One Missed Strike, Part II
by Davin Sunrider
Summary: (ESB AU) Emperor Skywalker, obsessed with finding his son, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space. Meanwhile, a small group of freedom fighters led by Luke Skywalker has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth...
1. The Empire Strikes Back

**One Missed Strike  
Part II**

**One**  
(The Empire Strikes Back)

Deep within the inky blackness of space, in the cold expanse between the flaming stars, a massive, gleaming white shape slowly came to a halt. The gigantic arrowhead-shaped vessel opened the cavernous bay doors on its underside, and with multiple flashes, like an extremely organized meteor shower, a swarm of probe droids scattered in all directions.

The Imperial Star Destroyer paused only long enough to ensure that the droids were well on their way before speeding up and vanishing into hyperspace, leaving the probe droids alone in the utter darkness.

One of the droids, programmed to search a nearby system, sped up, hurtling through the void for hours on end until it finally entered the remote system of Hoth.

No one came to Hoth. Not only were all eight planets orbiting the elderly yellow sun nearly uninhabitable, it just wasn't near anything important, and so it remained a quiet, unobtrusive corner of the galaxy, visited only by those with something to hide or someone to hide from.

But, Emperor Anakin Skywalker, known to most by his Sith title Darth Vader, was obsessed with finding the Rebellion, and so probe droids were scattered to every corner of the galaxy, cataloguing every unauthorized and undocumented sign of habitation they could find in hopes of locating the secret Rebel base.

After the Battle of Yavin, in which two squadrons of Rebel pilots in snub fighters delivered a crippling, humbling blow to the mighty flagship of the Imperial fleet, Lord Vader's Super Star Destroyer _Executor_, the Empire had cracked down even more severely on the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Lord Vader became merciless in his pursuit of what he publicly denounced as a terrorist organization, ransacking and destroying Rebel bases whenever he found them.

Those who kept track of such things began to speculate that Lord Vader was searching for something, for one particular Rebel among the thousands who gathered under the Alliance banner in their quest to bring freedom back to the galaxy.

The speculators were right; Darth Vader had been searching relentlessly for the young Jedi known as Luke Skywalker for the last three years, but had so far been unable to capture him. In fact, only a few people in the galaxy knew exactly why the Sith Master hunted the young Jedi with such fervor; Luke Skywalker was Darth Vader's son.

Neither Skywalker had ever spoken so much as one word to the other, and in fact had only seen each other once, during Luke's rescue of the Alderaanian Royal Family, which Vader had attempted to stop, killing Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the process.

But Vader was determined to find his child, and so he widened his search ever more, scouring the galaxy for the Rebellion and its hero, who was rapidly earning himself a reputation equal to his father's during the Clone Wars.

If droids could be bored, which they could not, especially the limited intelligence of probe droids, the unit dispatched to Hoth would have been. It streaked through the atmosphere of the sixth planet of the Hoth system without any attempt at stealth, almost certain there was nothing there.

However, droids had to follow their programming, so the probe droid extricated itself from its landing pod and set off across the icy wasteland of the planet, chasing Rebels that probably weren't there.

* * *

Luke Skywalker followed a flaming streak across the sky with his macrobinoculars, watching as it smashed into one of the endless snowbanks of frigid Hoth.

Atop his tauntaun, the only other living thing besides Luke himself for kilometers as far as he could see, the young Jedi debated with himself whether or not to investigate the meteor.

"Nothing better to do," Luke said to his tauntaun, who merely growled and whined in response.

The Rebellion had found a haven of sorts here on Hoth, a refuge from the merciless forces of Darth Vader. The Sith Master had been angry after his defeat at Yavin, and so devoted the full resources of the Imperial military to finding and rooting out the Rebellion. The defeat had cost him an eye and the respect of many a politician, who jumped on what they saw as a sign of weakness and began to attempt to acquire more power for themselves. In a fit of rage, Vader had reportedly threatened to completely disband the Senate and turn everything over the Imperial Governors, making his regime even more totalitarian. This rage had carried through to his pursuit of the Rebellion, and he'd personally destroyed several cells his intelligence network uncovered, leaving no one alive.

The Alliance had been fighting a rear-guard action for most of the last three years, unable to bring freedom to anyone under the heel of the Empire because they'd been fighting simply to survive. Now they hid here on Hoth, trying to stay under the Empire's radar until Vader's legendary temper cooled. So far, it seemed to Luke that Hoth had a greater chance of melting than Darth Vader had of giving up in his pursuit, but he hadn't said this to anyone else. Morale was low enough as it was.

Luke pulled the scarf from his face and raised his goggles out of the way, brushing the frost off the comlink built into his gauntlet.

"Echo Three to Echo Seven," he said. "Han, old buddy, do you read me?"

He received only static for a moment before a familiar voice cut through the interference. "_Watch who you're calling 'old', kid,_" the Corellian smuggler responded, a hint of amusement in his tone. "_What's up?"_

Luke grinned at his friend's characteristic irreverence. "I've finished my circle and I haven't picked up any life readings," he said.

"_There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser,_" Han Solo replied amusedly. "_My markers are placed; I'm heading back to base._"

"Right, I'll see you shortly," Luke said, looking over at the plume of smoke about half a klick away. "I'm going to go check out a meteorite that hit the ground near here. I won't be long."

He turned off his comlink and put his heels to the tauntaun's flanks. "C'mon, girl, let's go," he said to the snow-lizard. The beast shook its head anxiously, pawing the ground, and he leaned over to pat her neck. "What's the matter, girl? You smell something?"

The tauntaun had indeed smelled something: its natural predator on the frozen plains. The Force prickled Luke's senses a moment before a massive furry white paw slapped him out of the tauntaun's saddle, sending him tumbling to the snow.

"Whoa!" Luke shouted as he got a good look at what had attacked him.

The creature was a wampa, an enormous muscular biped covered in thick white fur and armed with razor-sharp claws. Its wide, slavering jaws opened in a growl, and it bellowed fiercely at him, smashing Luke's tauntaun aside with what was almost certainly a fatal blow.

Luke scrambled backwards, tugging his lightsaber from his belt as the creature advanced. He ignited the shining sapphire blade and brandished it at the creature, but the wampa was unimpressed, and the enormous furry creature charged.

The young Jedi hurled himself out of the way in a Force-enhanced leap, slashing at the wampa as it went past. One of its long, muscular arms dropped to the snow with a meaty _thump_, and it bellowed in pain and fury, rounding on him with a snarl.

Luke dropped into a defensive crouch, holding his lightsaber in front of him, and the wampa paused, glaring at him suspiciously. It knew he'd cut off its arm somehow, and appeared to be debating whether to risk losing the other one or another appendage to have its revenge.

Luke sent out a subtle suggestion through the Force, telling the wampa that he was dangerous and that it should flee, and to his relieved surprise, it did just that, bounding away with long, heavy strides through the snow.

As he deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt, Luke slowly stopped and frowned, looking over at his dead tauntaun and the endless, empty wastes beyond. "Great," he said to himself. "Now how am I supposed to get back to the base?"

There was no answer, only the howling of the wind over the ice and snow.

* * *

Han Solo slowly pulled his tauntaun to a halt, welcoming the relative warmth of the caves the Rebels' base occupied. He dismounted and tossed the reins of the snow-lizard to a nearby Rebel and pulled down the hood of his heavy coat, pocketing his goggles next.

He looked at the busy people around him, working hard to turn this frozen hole in the ground into a workable base, and he frowned to himself as he moved past the ships and speeders an army of mechanics worked on, sparks and curses flying with equal speed and frenzy as they struggled to adapt their machines to the cold.

Despite the fact that he'd been running and hiding with the Rebellion off and on for the last three years, Han still didn't really feel like he was one of them. They didn't share this opinion, though, and General Rieekan, the commander of the base, had more than once offered Han an officer's commission, which he'd so far turned down.

It was time for him to leave, to go back and do some good honest smuggling work in an effort to get Jabba the Hutt off his back. All these Rebels were too honest for his tastes. He hadn't made any real money since Yavin, which didn't help with the rather large sum he owed to Jabba for a shipment of spice he'd had to dump when he had been stopped by an Imperial patrol. Since it had been three years without payment, -which was not Han's fault but instead the result of a streak of spectacular bad luck- the Hutt crime lord was undoubtedly quite angry with him, evidenced by the increased bounty he'd placed on Han not long ago.

Hopefully after a few good runs he could calm Jabba down and get the price off of his head, but what he'd do after that, he didn't know.

Han looked up as he passed his ship, the _Millennium Falcon_, and shouted up to the huge furry Wookiee who was perched atop the hull, repairing one of the many temperamental systems on the battered freighter.

Chewbacca bellowed down in response, raising his welder as he grumbled at Han about being left behind to do all the work.

"All right, don't lose your temper," Han called back. "I'll come right back and give you a hand."

Chewbacca growled to himself and went back to work, putting his protective goggles back into place.

After shedding his heavy coat, Han found his way into the command center, adjusting his dark jacket as he looked around. His attention was drawn first to Princess Leia Organa, as it was usually, and he looked at her for a second through the crowd of people packed into the command center, monitoring the frozen wasteland that was their new home for now.

The princess was slender and petite, but fiery, and he found that that was what he liked most about her. Anyone who could hold her own in an argument with him instantly became interesting to the Corellian. Plus, it helped that she was easy on the eyes, too. With her long, rich brown hair bound up around her head in a simple but elegant braid, Leia somehow managed to seem dignified and beautiful even in her white combat uniform.

She glanced over in Han's direction, and he moved on before she could notice him staring at her. What was he, Luke? He hoped his interest wasn't as embarrassing as the young Jedi's obvious infatuation with Mara Jade, amusing as it may be to the rest of the base. The kid was deluding himself if he thought he was hiding it.

As he approached the commander of the base, a man in his early fifties with graying brown hair named Rieekan, Han stopped, leaning against the console the general was intently studying.

"Find anything, Solo?" the general asked, looking up from the blinking, flashing console.

"No sign of life out there, General," Han replied. "But the markers are set, so you'll know if anything comes around."

"Has Commander Skywalker reported in yet?" Rieekan asked.

"He's checking out a meteorite that hit near him," Han said. "He'll be in soon."

Rieekan frowned, looking at a radar screen on the console in front of him. "With all the meteor activity in this system, it's going to be difficult to spot approaching ships."

"General, I gotta leave," Han said before Rieekan could say any more. "I gotta move on."

His gaze was drawn to Leia again, and she glanced at him apparently without feeling, turning back to her console with cold aloofness.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Solo," Rieekan said.

"Well, I've got a price on my head, and if I don't pay off Jabba the Hutt, I'm a dead man."

Rieekan nodded understandingly. "A death mark's not an easy thing to live with. You're a good fighter, Solo. I hate to lose you."

Han nodded, and Rieekan went back to his readouts, issuing orders to the personnel nearby. Han went over to where Leia stood, and he smiled at her.

"Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it," he said, hoping for at least a smile in return.

"That's right," she replied coolly, glancing at him for only a moment before returning her attention to her console.

Han frowned. He thought he'd been developing a rapport with Leia, and he'd expected a little friendlier farewell than _that_. Well, if that's how it was…

"Well, don't get all mushy on me," he said irritably. "So long, Princess."

He stormed out of the command center, thinking all sorts of unfriendly things about the Alderaanian princess, but a little ways into the tunnel between the command center and the hangar, he heard running footsteps behind him and stopped as he heard Leia shout his name.

"Yes, Your Highnessness?" he said, spinning to face her.

"I thought you had decided to stay," she said. Was that concern in her voice? Han wasn't sure.

"Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind," he replied. "I'm going to pay off Jabba before he sends any more of his hunters after me. I have to get the price off my head while I still _have_ a head."

"But we still need you," Leia said, looking up at him.

"We need?" Han said, looking down at her. "What about _you_ need?"

Leia looked at him quizzically. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Han frowned again. "No, you probably don't," he said, irritated more with himself now than he was with her. He started off down the icy white corridor again, but the footsteps followed him.

"And what, precisely, am I supposed to know?" Leia asked, almost having to jog to keep up with him.

"Come on," Han said, still walking. "You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me."

"Well, of course," Leia replied, still not understanding what he meant. "You've been a great help to us. You're a natural leader-"

Han stopped suddenly and whirled to face the princess, raising a finger to point at her. "No," he said. "That's not it."

Leia's expression turned thoughtful and then derisive as she finally comprehended his meaning. "You're imagining things."

"Am I?" Han countered, leaning closer. A Rebel soldier pushed between them, and he moved back, but leaned forward again as soon as the man moved on. "What, were you afraid I was gonna leave without giving you a good-bye kiss?"

"I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee!" she shot back, by all appearances insulted by the very suggestion.

Han raised a finger to point at her again, angry now. "I can arrange that," he said, walking off again. "You could use a good kiss!" he shouted back at her over his shoulder.

Leia stopped and watched him go, glaring at a Rebel who had the audacity to grin to himself as he passed.

_Ridiculous,_ she thought to herself. But, as she stormed off in the opposite direction from the smuggler, she had to admit that some of what Han had said was right.

Anyone who dared suggest it to her face, though, would quickly regret it.

* * *

The Imperial probe droid continued on with its survey of the frozen planet of Hoth, measuring heat levels and searching for signs of civilization. It wasn't supposed to have the programming to feel boredom, but the tiny glimmer of intelligence within its evil-looking metal shell felt the electronic equivalent nevertheless, scanning what appeared to be yet another lifeless, uninhabitable lump of rock.

Upon discovering a hint of metal, the droid shot off in that direction, sensors attuned to something obviously artificial.

Perhaps Hoth was not so lifeless as the surveys had indicated.

* * *

Luke staggered through another snow drift, his heavy scarf wrapped around his face in a vain attempt to keep out the bitter cold. Hoth was nearing the end of its day and the temperatures were plummeting, sapping the heat from his body as easily as if he had been stumbling naked through the snow instead of wrapped in layer after layer of protective clothing.

The wampa's attack had broken his comlink, and the young Jedi was beginning to think that he would finally have to admit that he was lost. Hoth stretched out in icy plains around him, featureless snow extending in all directions. It was just as desolate and barren as Tatooine had been, but unbelievably cold. Luke hadn't ever been this cold in his entire life, and the chill was painful, making his bones ache. As he struggled to remember what Ben had taught him about using the Force to keep warm, he felt like his brain was frozen as well, his thoughts sluggish and dull.

He dragged himself another few steps, but stumbled on a chunk of ice and tumbled down the snowbank, groaning as he finally came to a stop. Shivering, Luke debated even getting back up.

* * *

C-3PO walked alongside his short, barrel-shaped companion R2-D2 through the ice tunnels of the Rebel base, and fussed at the shorter droid. "I merely commented that it was freezing in the Princess' chamber," he said. "I didn't ask you to turn on the thermal heater."

Artoo bleeped back a phrase, twittering up at his golden-colored human-shaped counterpart.

"It's _supposed_ to be freezing," Threepio said irritably. "Oh, how are we ever going to dry out all her clothes?"

Artoo burbled in a way that made Threepio suspect his squat companion had deliberately misread his statement so he could make a fool out of the protocol droid. But no, he decided. Artoo simply didn't have that kind of programming.

Finally, the two droids drew close to the battered freighter _Millennium Falcon_, and after a brief search, located its captain.

"Master Solo, sir," Threepio said, "might I have a word with you?"

Han Solo himself noted the arrival of the two droids with some annoyance, and he expressed this through a curt, "What do you want?"

"Mistress Leia has been trying to reach you on the communicator," Threepio began, but Han cut him off.

"I turned it off," he said with clear irritation. "I don't want to talk to her." He turned back to whatever he had been working on, then glanced back at Threepio. "Why, what does she want?"

"She wanted to know if you've seen Master Luke-" Threepio began again, but again Han interrupted him.

"Luke hasn't come in yet?" he asked with concern, looking out at the darkening sky beyond the hangar doors.

"Mistress Leia thought he was with you," Threepio said. "She doesn't know where he is."

"I don't know where he is," Han said, concern beginning to draw across his features.

"Nobody knows where he is," Threepio replied.

"What do you mean, _nobody_ knows?" Han demanded, glaring at the droid. He moved past Threepio to catch the attention of a nearby Rebel. "Deck Officer!" he said loudly, looking around for the man in question. The man he'd called to also began looking, and the deck officer came over shortly.

"Has Commander Skywalker reported in yet?" Han asked the man.

"I haven't seen him," the sergeant replied. "It's possible he came in through the south entrance."

"It's _possible_?" Han said, glaring at the man. "Why don't you go find out? It's getting dark out there."

The sergeant hurried off to check, and Artoo whistled nervously. "I don't know," Threepio replied. He turned to Han. "Might I inquire what's going on?" he asked.

"Why not?" Captain Solo said flippantly, watching for the sergeant's return.

Threepio imitated a human sound of annoyance. "Impossible man!" he grumbled to himself. He followed as Han walked off at a brisk pace, picking up his heavy coat from where it lay on a pile of machinery and putting it on as he approached the tauntaun pens.

"Commander Skywalker hasn't come in through the south entrance," the deck officer said as Han approached. "He might have forgotten to check in."

"Not likely," Han said, fastening his coat. "Are the speeders ready?"

"We're having some trouble adapting them to the cold," the sergeant replied. "Perhaps by morning-"

Han cut him off. There wasn't any time to waste on unreliable machines. "Then we'll have to go out on tauntauns," he said determinedly, approaching one of the snow-lizards.

"The temperature is dropping too rapidly!" another Rebel soldier said, following Han as he mounted the tauntaun.

"That's right," Han said, his tone making it clear he would suffer no objection. "And my friend's out in it!"

Han Solo was not the kind of man who made genuine friends easily, but once he'd decided you were his friend, you instantly came under his protection from that point onward. The thought of his young Jedi friend freezing out there in the desolate wastes filled Han with a kind of anger, a determination to make sure that the worst would not happen.

"Your tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker," the deck officer warned.

Han glared down at the man from atop his mount. "Then I'll see you in hell!" he growled. He kicked his tauntaun's sides and urged the animal outside into the freezing night in search of his friend.

* * *

Luke lay on his back in a pile of snow, staring up at the rapidly darkening sky. He was freezing, he knew, but he just didn't have the energy to get up and move. He tried to summon the Force, but his frozen brain couldn't quite figure out how, and he felt the world start to slowly slide away.

"Luke!" a commanding voice said above him suddenly. "Luke!"

Luke groaned. Was he hearing things now? He summoned the strength to roll over, and he looked for the source of the voice, but saw nothing. The cold ice beneath him seemed to almost hungrily sap his strength now, as if it were a parasitic organism, and his head drooped to the snow. It was cold against his cheek, but he no longer cared.

"Get up, Luke!" the voice said sharply, and the young Jedi raised his head again, straining to see through the swirling snow.

The familiar shape of Obi-Wan Kenobi slowly faded into view, dressed as he had been in life in the rough brown robes he'd worn on Tatooine. He looked down at Luke with caring eyes, and the young Jedi thought he surely must be going crazy.

"Ben?" he said disbelievingly, wondering how in the world his old master could be here.

"You will go to the Dagobah system," Obi-Wan said, not shouting but somehow making himself clear over the wind. "There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me."

Luke reached out a hand for the man who'd been a father to him for most of his life, but Obi-Wan disappeared, leaving him alone in the frozen wastes. Cold and alone, he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

The Imperial probe droid approached the metal it had detected earlier, sensors and cameras fully primed. As it hovered around a formation of ice, an obviously artificial object came into view, looking like a series of disks stuck into the ground and connected by a length of pipe.

The droid began taking pictures, noting the shield generator as well as the hangar entrance and a few other outposts. When it noticed a human moving around next to the generator, it drew back behind the ice formation it had passed a minute earlier and watched as the human, a bit of long red-gold hair hanging out of its hood and heavy scarf, knelt by the generator and affixed something to one of the large disks.

Then, turning as if it knew the droid was there, the human looked directly at the droid and held up a hand. The droid tried to move away, but an unseen force held it in place. Alarmed, the droid nearly triggered its self-destruct program, but the human pointed a small device at it and beamed an Imperial recognition code into its processor.

The probe droid deactivated its alarm and waited obediently as the human approached, features unrecognizable beneath its heavy clothing and face mask. Pulling off one of its gloves, the human reached into a pocket of its heavy coat and withdrew a data chip. The droid swiveled to present the corresponding port to the human, who pulled up its goggles to reveal vibrant green eyes, penetrating and focused.

The human leaned forward, and the droid scanned its retinas before opening its data port. Operative 3152 inserted the data chip into the port and straightened. The probe droid was not designed to register human emotion, and so did not note the hint of regret in the woman's eyes as she watched the data port close over the chip containing her detailed report on Echo Base.

As she pulled her goggles back into place and tugged her glove back on, Mara Jade turned and walked away from the droid, who watched her go for a few moments before moving off to find a good place to transmit its data.

* * *

Han Solo almost didn't see the slumped shape in the snow, and in fact his tauntaun nearly stepped on it before he realized it was not a rock poking through the ice. Once he recognized the shape as human, Han pulled his tauntaun to a halt and hurriedly dismounted.

"Luke!" he shouted as he rolled the body over. "Come on, Luke, give me a sign here."

The young Jedi did not respond, and Han feared with momentary horror that he was too late, that Luke had already frozen to death, and he shook his friend by his coat.

"Don't do this, Luke," he said desperately, reaching up to gently slap the young Jedi's face. "Come on, buddy!"

After what seemed like an eternity, Luke groaned, moving his head slightly, and Han grinned beneath his heavy scarf. He made to pick the young warrior up, but as he did, his tauntaun bellowed tiredly and collapsed, its last breath leaving it in a great gust that formed a momentary cloud around its head.

Han frowned, knowing this was his fault. Usually these creatures had enough sense to get inside and insulated by this time of day, but he'd forced it out here in search of his friend. He looked back down at Luke and grabbed the young Jedi under the arms, dragging him over next to the tauntaun. His friend's life outweighed that of a beast any way you looked at it, Han thought, his mind racing.

It would take him a while to get the shelter up, and Luke looked half-dead as it was. An idea came to him suddenly, and while it was distasteful, it had a good chance of working, Han pulled Luke over next to the body of the tauntaun, which was as dead as the ice around it now, and pulled the lightsaber from the Jedi's belt.

"This may smell bad, kid," he said, "but it'll keep you warm 'til I get the shelter up."

Fumbling with the unfamiliar device, Han thought to himself that it might be a sort of sacrilege to use a Jedi Knight's weapon like this, but he didn't have anything that even came close to a lightsaber for cutting through the snow-lizard's thick skin. Igniting the bright blue blade, he swept it quickly through the creature's belly, slitting it open.

Han nearly gagged on the resultant stench, and as he deactivated the lightsaber, he pulled his scarf a little more tightly over his nose. He clipped the lightsaber to his belt and reached inside the dead tauntaun, pulling out its entrails and tossing them aside. He pushed Luke into the cavity, pulling the skin of the beast closed over him.

Eyes watering, Han rested on the snow-lizard's side for a moment. "Ugh," he panted. "And I thought they smelled bad… on the outside."

His friend relatively safe for now, Han moved off to the dead tauntaun's back, where his emergency shelter was stored, and set about freeing it from the storage container.

* * *

Admiral Firmus Piett, commander of the Super Star Destroyer _Executor,_ looked at the data transmission beamed back to the flagship from a probe droid in the Hoth system, a system Piett had never heard of before today. It was on the list of uninhabited systems, but as he reviewed the images sent back from the droid, he suspected that this classification was inaccurate.

Perfectly regular footsteps quietly announced the arrival of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the commander of the Emperor's personal battle group. As one of the Empire's finest commanders and tactical thinkers, perhaps the best in the fleet, it was no surprise to anyone that Thrawn had been transferred to the _Executor_ not long after Lord Vader's termination of his previous fleet admiral. The Emperor demanded the best in the Empire for his personal force, especially for anyone posted on his flagship.

"Those are the latest probe reports?" Thrawn inquired, standing out from the gray and black-uniformed officers not only because of his spotless white uniform, but due to his blue skin and subtly glowing red eyes, marking him as a member of an alien species Piett did not know.

"Yes, sir," Piett replied, moving aside slightly so that Thrawn could see the monitor.

The Grand Admiral studied the displayed image intently, advancing through several more in the series before he stopped at an image of a shield generator standing out in stark difference from the endless snow.

"The Hoth system was registered as uninhabited," Thrawn said, looking over at Piett. "Pirates or smugglers?"

"Or Rebels," Piett said, pointing to the shield generator. "We know the Alliance stole a generator of that model a few months ago."

"Perhaps so," Thrawn said thoughtfully, scanning through a few more of the images.

"You've found something?" an intensely familiar voice asked from behind the two men.

Piett turned to find himself looking up at the Emperor himself, Sith Master Darth Vader. Lord Vader was tall and broad-shouldered, with severely cut dark blond hair that was beginning to show signs of gray. He was dressed as usual in a black Imperial officer's uniform, a long, wide cloak of the same color hanging from his shoulders, and a black lightsaber clipped to his belt.

He looked back at Piett with a glowing blue photoreceptor in eerie counterpart to his natural ice-blue eye. The patch-like lens that covered the mechanical eye and acted as a filter was bolted directly to Lord Vader's skull, and combined with his other scars, gave him a fierce, grim appearance. Ever since his eye had been replaced with the blue photoreceptor, Piett had found it uncomfortable to meet his Emperor's gaze for very long.

"Yes, my lord. We believe we have found an outpost in the Hoth system," Piett replied.

Vader studied the images the probe droid had sent back for a moment, his mechanical eye moving in perfect synchronization with his natural one, and he stopped on the image of the shield generator, as Thrawn had.

"That's it," he said finally. "The Rebels are there. Set course immediately." He turned to another officer standing a few paces away, dressed in a green-gray uniform with matching cap. "General Veers," he said to the officer. "Prepare your men."

General Veers nodded crisply and moved off. Vader remained a moment longer, looking over the probe data and the officers next to it with his eerie mismatched gaze, then turned on his heel and marched off the bridge, his cloak billowing out behind him.

"Recall the patrol ships," Thrawn ordered, moving off to the comm station to address the officer seated there. "Ready the fleet for hyperspace."

Piett went about getting the flagship itself ready. The _Executor_ was so huge it was practically a fleet's worth of responsibility by itself, a city-sized warship filled with hundreds of thousands of fighting men and women. It was little wonder some described the _Executor_ as the Empire's mobile capital, since Lord Vader spent more time here than he did on Coruscant.

Piett himself thought ships this huge were unwieldy, but their effectiveness could not be denied. The debacle at Yavin aside, the _Executor_ and the others of her class were capable of engaging entire fleets single-handedly, dwarfing any other capital ship out there by several orders of magnitude. Often, just the sight of a Super Star Destroyer was enough to terrify most rebellious systems into surrendering. Accompanied by the other dozen Star Destroyers of Lord Vader's personal fleet, the Emperor's flagship was virtually unstoppable.

It was rather too much firepower to deal with one small Rebel base, but Yavin had proved that overwhelming force was the only way to counter the Rebels' almost unnatural good luck.

The Star Destroyers arranged themselves into formation, a mighty hammer to crush the Rebellion once and for all.

* * *

Darth Vader entered his quarters on board the _Executor_, the only permanent home he maintained, and crossed immediately to his personal computer terminal. He accessed the coded data hidden in the probe droid's transmission, accessible only to him. Only he knew the data was there, having observed the momentary subliminal flash in the image of the shield generator with his mechanical eye.

Despite the pain of the wound that had cost him his natural right eye, Vader had made good use of its replacement, as he had with his earlier prosthetic, his right arm from the elbow down. He had installed a multitude of scanning devices in the mechanical eye, and had adjusted his personal set of codes and that of his network of personal spies accordingly, to make them even more impenetrable.

His computer terminal scanned both his natural eye and the systems of his mechanical one, then beeped three times and displayed the information his operative had hidden in the probe droid's transmission.

To protect her cover, only Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader himself knew Mara Jade was an undercover operative within the Rebel ranks. She had full authorization to participate in missions for the Rebellion, killing Imperial troops if necessary to maintain her cover and convince the Rebels she was one of them.

Jade had not reported for nearly a year, but this was understandable, since the Rebellion was rarely any place where she could transmit a report without any chance of being caught. The report, a text-only document, apologized for not reporting sooner, then went on to describe the armaments and defenses of Echo Base in detail, even going so far as to recommend a preliminary strategy.

She also included the schematics for the shield generator and the friend-or-foe recognition codes for the orbiting monitor satellites. These Vader downloaded into a data chip, then scanned the rest of the report into his mechanical eye's storage systems for later review. Once this was complete, he summoned Thrawn to his quarters.

The Grand Admiral responded with typical efficiency, appearing at the door only a few minutes later. Vader opened the door and the blue-skinned alien stepped inside his quarters, inclining his head respectfully in lieu of a salute.

Vader held up the data chip silently. Thrawn took it with equal silence, then nodded once and left without saying a word.

The Sith Master walked over to the wide viewport next to his lightsaber collection, staring out into the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace as his fleet flew on for the Rebel base, his thoughts on his son. Today would be the day, he knew, that he finally brought Luke to his side, where he belonged.

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: After many delays and distractions, I'm finally starting this story up. It is completely written out, but the later chapters need some work, so posting will unfortunately not be as swift as '_Part I_'. I'm shooting for at least two updates per week, depending on how long it takes me to get the rest of the story the way I want it.

And yes, much of the dialogue in this chapter is identical or extremely similar to that in the movie. Though this is an AU, I always thought _Empire Strikes Back_ had the best dialogue of the series, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it. "I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee" might be the funniest line in the whole saga, in my opinion. ;)

Thanks for reading!


	2. The Battle of Hoth

**Two**  
(The Battle of Hoth)

Princess Leia Organa stood in front of a tank in the medical center of Echo Base, looking with concern at the young man who floated in the bacta inside. She hadn't slept at all last night, too worried about Luke and, she had to admit, Han. She would probably never admit to either man just how relieved she had been when the search patrol had brought them in this morning.

Han himself came over to stand next to her, also looking at their friend. "He gonna be okay?" he asked. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she did not object.

Somehow, she knew, and she answered, "He'll be fine," almost automatically.

Han smiled and squeezed her shoulder, then moved off, seeming almost… embarrassed? No, that couldn't be it, Leia thought. She did catch him looking back at her once before he left the medical center, and she gave him a curious look, remembering their conversation yesterday.

Leia shook her head slightly and went back to watching the monitors on Luke's bacta tank.

* * *

A little while later, Luke Skywalker sat in the bed in his small quarters in Echo Base, resting. The door to his quarters opened with a hiss, and Han Solo and Chewbacca walked in, the smuggler grinning broadly at him as the Wookiee growled a friendly greeting.

"How're ya feeling, kid?" Han said, kneeling next to the bed. "Why, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark."

"Thanks to you," Luke said gratefully.

Han grinned again. "That's two you owe me, junior," he said, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

The door to Luke's quarters opened again, and Princess Leia and her two droids walked in, or rolled, in Artoo's case. The astromech whistled cheerfully at him, and Threepio clanked over to the bed, somehow giving the impression of smiling even though his metal face was immobile.

"Oh, Master Luke, it's so good to see you fully functional again," Threepio said happily, and Luke smiled in response.

Han turned and sat on the edge of Luke's bed, flashing a cocky grin at Leia before she could say anything. "Well, Your Worship," he said, "it looks like you managed to keep me around a while longer."

"I had nothing to do with it," Leia said hotly, annoyed. "General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until the shields are operational."

"That's a good story," Han said, rising to his feet with a grin still spread across his face. "_I_ think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight."

Leia scoffed. "I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain."

Chewbacca chortled, grinning widely at the lively exchange.

"Laugh it up, fuzz-ball," Han said, glancing up at his Wookiee friend. "But you didn't see us alone in the south passage." He moved to put his arm around Leia's shoulders, grinning again. "She expressed her true feelings for me."

Leia sputtered with surprise and irritation. "My what?" She stepped away from Han, flushing as she glared incredulously up at him. "Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking… nerf-herder!" she exclaimed, quite clearly embarrassed.

"Who's scruffy-looking?" Han demanded mock-indignantly. He grinned as he looked back at Luke. "I must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?"

Luke fought to keep the smile from his face, nodding slightly. Leia looked over like she wanted to shoot them both, and when the door opened, she whirled toward it almost gratefully. Mara Jade stepped inside, glancing around with a faintly amused expression at the faces before her.

"What's going on in here?" she asked, also fighting not to smile. "I could hear you outside."

Leia left the room quickly enough that it could be said she fled, and Mara glanced after her with a quizzical expression.

Han flashed her his most dazzling smile and said, "She's coming around," as he leaned against the wall next to Luke's bed.

Mara nodded amusedly before she looked back down at Luke. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Luke leaned back and shrugged. "All right I guess," he said, attempting an air of nonchalance, as if nearly getting frozen to death was something he did on a regular basis. From the way Han rolled his eyes, Luke suspected he was less than successful.

Mara smiled slightly and reached out to pat his knee beneath the blanket. "Well, I hope you feel better soon," she said, and she turned to leave.

"Uh… thanks," Luke said after her, feeling his cheeks start to flush.

As Mara left, Han shook his head, grinning. "You need some lessons, kid. Watching you is painful."

Luke blushed deeper. "Like you're an expert," he said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

The Corellian chuckled. "Better than you, that's for sure. Talking to girls must not be part of Jedi training."

Luke laughed despite himself. "Oh, get out of here," he said, chuckling.

Han laughed himself. "Take it easy, kid." He gestured to Chewbacca, and he and the Wookiee left.

* * *

On their way out of Luke's room, an alarm sounded, and Han and Chewbacca hurried off to the command center.

General Rieekan and one of his officers were conferring there when they arrived, and the general looked up as Han and Chewie arrived. Leia, who was also there, glanced over at the smuggler and the Wookiee before looking back down at the sensor screen

"What's going on?" Han asked

"We've picked up something in Zone Twelve," Rieekan answered. "It's moving east."

"It's metal, whatever it is," the sensor officer said.

"Then it can't be one of those creatures," Leia said, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Is it one of ours?" Han asked. "A speeder?"

"No," the sensor officer answered. He put a hand up to his headphones suddenly. "Wait, I'm getting something very faint."

He put it on his console's speakers, and the personnel in the control room listened to the odd, throbbing noise for a moment.

"I am fluent in six million forms of communication," Threepio announced suddenly. "That signal is not one used by the Rebellion. It could be an Imperial code."

Han chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Whatever it is, it isn't friendly," he said. "Come on, Chewie, let's go check it out."

* * *

As he and Chewbacca drew closer to the signal the Rebels had detected, the Wookiee growled as he pointed at an insectoid metal shape with several dangling appendages. Han nodded underneath the hood of his heavy coat and moved off to the probe droid's other side, drawing his blaster as he ducked out of sight behind a snowbank.

Chewbacca roared at the droid from its other side, and it shot at him with the blasters built into its carapace. Han fired back, and it swiveled to fire at him. Chewbacca shot it with an explosive bolt from his bowcaster, and it fired at the Wookiee, spitting red lasers at the hairy brown shape crouched behind a large chunk of ice. Han shot again, and, surprising him, the droid exploded into a million pieces in a brief fireball.

Frowning, Han brought out his comlink and contacted the base, telling them he'd found the object.

"_What was it?" _Leia's voice asked.

"Droid of some kind," Han replied. "I didn't hit it that hard; it must have had a self destruct."

"_An Imperial probe droid,_" Leia said with a hint of both annoyance and trepidation.

Han frowned again. "It's a good bet the Empire knows we're here," he said.

General Rieekan's voice came over the comm, full of weary resignation. "_We'd better start the evacuation_," he said.

Han nodded grimly. "Come on, Chewie," he said, and the two headed back to the base.

* * *

At the edge of the Hoth system, thirteen Star Destroyers erupted from hyperspace, weapons bristling with promised death. The largest of these dwarfed the others, soaring forward to take the front place in the formation.

In the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer _Executor_, Grand Admiral Thrawn watched the sensor console over the shoulder of the officer manning it, glowing red eyes taking every detail. He pointed to a small satellite on the readout, an early-warning system designed to alert the Rebels to any incoming ships.

But for now, the Star Destroyers were beyond the sensor's range, as per Thrawn's orders. He intended to successfully execute a variation of Lord Vader's planned strategy for the Battle of Yavin, which had been bumbled by Ozzel, the fleet's previous commander.

Thrawn frowned to himself at the idea of that fool being entrusted with the _Executor_ and its fleet. Vader's plan had been a sound one, and probably would have succeeded if not for the incompetent admiral. Today, it would work, and the fleet would catch the Rebels by total surprise.

Piett, it had to be admitted, had made the best of the situation despite Ozzel's blunder, and in reward Lord Vader had made the man's field promotion to Admiral official, despite the fact that he only commanded the _Executor._ Thrawn found him an excellent subordinate, with a quick grasp of tactics; he wisely did not question orders in the midst of battle, trusting in those who had earned rank greater than his own, provided they deserved it. There were far too few officers like him in the Fleet, Thrawn thought. But, one had to work with what one had.

"Transmit the code to the satellite as we move within range," Thrawn ordered, indicating the data chip Lord Vader had given him, filled with information procured by the Emperor's Hand.

As the satellite detected the massive bulk of the flagship, the _Executor_ transmitted the stolen code that told the satellite it was a friendly vessel, as were the other Star Destroyers in its accompanying fleet.

During the hyperspace journey, Thrawn had prepared a signal to send to the Rebels to fool them into thinking their Admiral Ackbar was here with his fleet, ready to defend against an Imperial battle group that was prowling through the sector. He transmitted the signal, then ordered the fleet to move at maximum sublight speed for the sixth planet of the system, the one the probe report had indicated.

The Grand Admiral allowed himself a small, grim smile. The Rebellion would be dealt a crushing blow today, one from which it might never recover.

* * *

Darth Vader was meditating in his chair when the door to his quarters opened and General Veers walked in, and he turned his head to face the officer, opening his eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

"My lord," Veers replied, "the fleet has moved out of lightspeed. Com-Scan has detected an energy field protecting an area of the sixth planet of the Hoth system. The field is strong enough to deflect any bombardment."

Vader considered this thoughtfully, extending his senses out to the planet below them. He sensed nervousness and a flurry of activity, but not panic; the Rebels knew they were coming but not that they were here.

"They must have found the droid," the Sith Master said with mild annoyance; he'd half expected that, anyway. "Prepare a ground assault, and make the shield generator your first priority." He glanced out of the window at the white sphere growing closer below them. "Have they begun launching transports?"

Veers shook his head. "No, my lord. They appear to have believed the Grand Admiral's signal, and their transmissions to us have been largely to inquire as to the location of the Imperial fleet." Veers' mouth quirked ironically as he finished, smugness radiating from him in waves detectable even without the Force.

Vader looked out at the other Star Destroyers in his fleet, moving into position to cut off any escape. Soon the small, frozen planet would be completely surrounded. "Inform my apprentice that he is to lead the assault," he said, indicating he was finished, and Veers saluted crisply before leaving.

The Sith Master decided to head down to the hangar bay to monitor the attack from his shuttle before he launched. Thrawn did not need his assistance in organizing the attack, and Vader decided to stay off of the bridge, even though it was exactly where he wanted to be. He would come down himself once Veers and Darth Nova knocked out the shield.

He could sense his son already, a bright spot in the Force, and in the background, not as powerful, the Force presence of Mara Jade. He thought he could dimly sense another individual, but the presence was so faint and so like Luke's that he couldn't be sure it was anything at all, perhaps an echo of his son's.

Retrieving his lightsaber from where it sat on the arm of his chair, Vader set off down to the hangar bay.

* * *

Inside Echo Base, the Rebels scrambled to pack up their base, fleeing for the transports waiting outside. No one inside the base had any inkling that a fleet of Star Destroyers was waiting for them, except one young man, who paused as a dreaded, though familiar presence manifested itself in the Force.

Luke Skywalker slowly finished zipping up his insulated orange flight suit as he extended his perceptions through the Force. As he searched after the powerfully bright spot he knew to be his father, he sensed another presence, almost or equally as powerful. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he realized the other Force-user could be none other than Vader's Sith Apprentice, Darth Nova.

Luke felt his blood freeze with horror as he sensed thousands of other, unfamiliar lives near the two shining spots in the Force, and he hurriedly finished putting on his flight gear before he ran out of his quarters and sprinted for the command center.

"He's here!" Luke shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran. "He's here, he's _here!_"

Han Solo caught his arm as Luke ran into the command center. "Hey, slow down there, junior. Who's here?"

"Vader!" Luke said desperately, looking around for General Rieekan or Leia.

Han's brows shot up. "You sure?"

Luke nodded, still looking for the commanders of the base. "I can sense him, just like he can sense me." He looked over at Han, frantic now. "Vader's here, in orbit, and he brought his fleet with him."

Han spluttered a surprised Corellian curse as he scrambled off to help Luke look for the general or the princess. He'd seen Luke do too many strange things to doubt the kid now, and if he was this panicked, then it was definitely serious.

The smuggler and the Jedi finally found General Rieekan, who was standing in front of one of the consoles in the back of the command center, conferring with Princess Leia and her aide, Winter. Both Alderaanian women looked up as Han and Luke dashed over, instantly noting the panic in Luke's eyes and a similar expression on Han's face.

"They're here!" Luke blurted, gesturing vaguely upward. "The Empire is here, in orbit!"

"What?" Leia exclaimed, moving with Winter and General Rieekan to look at the sensor console tied into their orbiting satellites. It showed several large ships, but all were broadcasting Alliance transponder codes through the friend-or-foe recognition system.

"I thought that was Admiral Ackbar's fleet," Rieekan said, looking up with a concerned expression at Luke. Like the others, he'd seen Luke do too many things with the Force to dismiss his concern.

"No, it's Vader," Luke said. "He's brought his apprentice with him."

"Where's the real Ackbar's fleet, then?" Leia asked, turning to Winter.

The white-haired young woman thought briefly, summoning the information from her eidetic memory. "He should be out at the rendezvous point." She frowned slightly. "I thought there was something odd about the messages we received." She looked around at the others. "I think Luke's right."

Han muttered a sulfurous Corellian curse under his breath, at least having the manners to look briefly embarrassed when he looked up at the ladies present. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at the sensor board. "That's an Imperial fleet, all right," he said more loudly. "They're trying to hold in Ackbar's preferred formation, but you can tell they're not used to it." He pointed to the furthest contact out. "I'd bet the _Falcon_ that that's the _Executor_, trying to hide half out of sensor range so we'll think she's smaller than she really is." He smiled grimly. "Not easy to hide a nineteen-kilometer ship, even for Thrawn."

The sinking feeling in those gathered around the sensor console was almost palpable; the _Executor_ meant both Vader and Thrawn were here, which meant the Rebels were very much in trouble. _Serious_ trouble.

Rieekan nodded grimly. "Our energy shield will protect us from their turbolasers, but we should prepare for ground assault." He looked up at the gathered Rebels. "Get the word out: ready a defense while we finish getting the transports loaded."

As they moved off, Han grumbled and lightly tapped Luke's shoulder. "This is Yavin all over again," he said to the young Jedi.

Luke nodded. "Only he brought the rest of his fleet this time. The planet's surrounded."

Han looked over at his friend grimly. "If you've got any tricks up your sleeve, kid, now's the time to use 'em." With that, he slapped Luke's shoulder and turned to jog off to the hangar bay.

Luke absently reached down to the lightsaber at his belt, wondering what the small force of Rebels could do against the overwhelming might of the Empire.

* * *

In orbit above, Darth Vader looked down at his second-in-command for a final word before the Sith Apprentice boarded his dropship.

"Spare no one but Skywalker," the Sith Master said.

"Yes, Master," Darth Nova replied, flexing his fingers inside their heavy gloves. "I will destroy the shield generator first, and then I will bring Skywalker to you."

Vader met his student's eyes briefly before he nodded once and turned to walk toward his own shuttle. Darth Nova grinned as he boarded General Veers' transport; he hadn't had the chance to eradicate a base full of Rebels in a long time.

* * *

In the frozen trenches in front of Echo Base, dozens of Rebel soldiers gathered, nervously awaiting the arrival of their enemy. The frozen plains stretched out to infinity in front of them, ominously silent. No longer bothering to hide, the massive shape of the _Executor_ hung above like a dagger, intimidating through its sheer size. The damage was done, anyway; they were trapped here, like womp rats in a box canyon, and all the Empire needed to do was come down and start shooting.

As the Rebels watched, dozens of streaks flared up in the atmosphere, almost like a meteor shower, but each man and woman in the trenches knew all too well what they really were: Imperial dropships. From the sheer number streaming down, the Rebels knew with sinking hearts that they were vastly outnumbered.

As the first of the flaming streaks headed for the clear plain beyond the range of their shield, the Rebels dug in, checking their weapons one last time. The thought flashing through the mind of almost every man, woman, and alien was that they would quite probably not be leaving this frozen ball of ice alive. Prayers were silently said to a multitude of deities as more Imperial troops streaked down through the atmosphere, grimly set on the task of eradicating the long-standing thorn in the Empire's side.

The Battle of Hoth was about to begin.

* * *

Princess Leia looked around at the circle of orange-suited pilots standing nervously in the tunnel leading to the hangar.

"The large transports will leave as soon as they're loaded," Leia said. "Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only opened for a split second, so you'll have to stick close to your transports."

"Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?" a Rebel pilot Leia knew as Hobbie said with incredulity.

"The ion cannon will fire several shots to clear your flight path," Leia explained. "When you clear the shield, you will proceed directly to the rendezvous point." She looked around at the circle of pilots, making eye contact with most of them. "Good luck."

The pilots moved off to their ships, and Leia followed them a short distance into the hangar, looking up at a sudden loud bellow from Chewbacca. She noted with a bit of amusement that the enormous hairy Wookiee was shouting something in his language at Han Solo, who raced over with a fire extinguisher to smother a sparking system on the upper hull of his battered freighter. He engaged in a heated debate with his copilot, the two of them gesticulating wildly at each other as they argued about what was the quickest way to get the temperamental _Falcon_ ready to leave.

Leia smirked to herself, leaving the two of them to work on their ship as she went back to the command center.

Once she arrived, all trace of humor vanished as she found herself swept up in a flurry of nervous activity. General Rieekan and several other officers hunched over their consoles, watching their sensors.

"First transport approaching shield," a controller said.

"Prepare to open shield," Rieekan said, watching the monitor tracking the Star Destroyers overhead.

"Stand by, Ion Control," another officer said.

"Fire!" ordered Rieekan, and Leia heard the dull thump as the ion cannon fired several shots.

As she watched, the bright shape of the closest Star Destroyer suddenly veered off course, disabled by the ion cannon's shots. But, to her dismay, another Star Destroyer was waiting behind it, and the dot indicating the transport flickered several times before vanishing altogether.

Leia closed her eyes, thinking of all the people that had been aboard the transport. When she looked up, General Rieekan's mouth was set in a hard line as he grimly moved on to try another strategy.

Another dull thump from above alerted Leia to the fact that the orbiting Imperial ships were firing down on the shield with their turbolasers. She frowned, realizing they were doing it just to rattle the Rebels, since their bolts could not penetrate the shields.

She sighed, moving off to see if there was anything she could do to help.

* * *

Luke was on his way to his snowspeeder, intending to aid in the defense, when he sensed a powerful presence in the Force. He paused, recognizing the presence as not Darth Vader, but the other one he'd sensed, the Dark Lord's apprentice.

Darth Nova was rapidly approaching, and Luke realized that he intended to fight his way through the troops massed outside. The young Jedi tossed his flight helmet to another pilot, sprinting off for the exit. As the lone Force-user on the Alliance's side, Luke knew he was the only person who could possibly stand in Nova's way.

* * *

A Rebel commander watched through his electrobinoculars as a line of enormous Imperial combat walkers approached through the snow, walking in formation like a malevolent herd of banthas.

But ahead of the huge metal walkers, a smaller black shape swooped over the ice fields with incredible speed, shooting forward like a rocket. The commander focused on the shape, furrowing his brow, and watched as it soared toward the Rebel lines.

When the small black shape drew closer, the commander realized it was a man on a speeder bike, and he wondered who would be foolish enough to approach without an armored vehicle for backup.

The commander gestured to one of the men manning a turret and ordered him to fire on the speeder bike. The turret spat red lances of death at the approaching speeder, and the man aboard it swerved to avoid, spinning his speeder bike through a dizzying series of maneuvers.

Finally, one of the turrets scored a hit, and the Rebel commander watched with grim satisfaction as the speeder bike exploded in a quick yellow fireball. But, he realized as he looked closer, the man was no longer on it. With puzzlement, the commander looked around, and had the misfortune to look up just as the man, who had leaped from his speeder bike in an impossibly long jump, came down only a few meters from the commander's position.

The Imperial, a grim young man dressed in black cold-weather gear, looked directly at the commander with a piercing dark brown gaze that, as the commander watched in horror, slowly turned to red-rimmed yellow. He pulled a lightsaber from his belt and, holding it in a reversed grip, ignited the ruby-red blade.

Sending a chill down the commander's spine, the Sith warrior slowly smiled, baring his teeth in a fiercely amused expression more suited to a nek battle dog than a human being.

The Sith Lord leaped forward, his lightsaber at the ready, and the commander knew no more.

* * *

Inside the lead Imperial walker, General Veers watched through the AT-AT's front viewports as a sudden flurry of activity flared up on the Rebel lines. He could see Darth Nova's shining red lightsaber even at this distance, moving at superhuman speed as the young Sith mowed down the Rebel defenders with wild abandon.

Veers smirked to himself before turning to one of his pilots. "Distance to power generators?" he asked the man.

"Six-four-one," the man replied, glancing at a readout on his console.

"Ready the heavy guns," Veers ordered, steadying himself as a Rebel speeder soared overhead, firing at them with its blasters. Secure in his knowledge that his walker's armor was strong enough to absorb the Rebel fire, Veers turned back to the front viewport, watching as the power generators slowly drew closer with each long step.

* * *

Mara Jade watched from the gaping mouth of the hangar as the Imperial troops slowly approached in their AT-ATs. Her gaze was drawn to the bright red flashes and panicked shouting coming from the trenches, and she realized that Darth Nova was leading the assault, clearing out the Rebel lines personally.

She watched as a turret, terrified Rebel gunner still inside, lifted free from the ground and swiveled down to face the lines. Under Nova's control, it fired repeatedly, eliciting screams and shouts from the Rebels. Then, it began to spin, moving faster and faster until it was a blur. Mara forced herself to watch as the Rebel flew free of the spinning turret, screaming as he tumbled in free-fall to the hard ice below. The turret, still spinning, hurtled upwards and slammed into one of the snowspeeders, detonating both in a bright orange fireball.

"Biggs!" a distraught voice shouted next to her. Startled, Mara turned to see Luke Skywalker standing a few meters away, lightsaber in hand but not ignited. The look of sorrow on his face was heart-wrenching, and Mara had to look away.

_This is all because of you_, she thought to herself, watching as more Rebels died under Nova's assault. _You might as well be killing these people yourself._

Mara fiercely pushed such thoughts aside. She was an agent of the Empire, the rightful government of the galaxy, and these people were dissidents who threatened its stability. They were the enemy, the 'bad guys' as the children in the Sith Temple put it, and she was fighting on the side of good.

So why did she feel so horrible as Darth Nova, a man who might as well have been her brother, leaped from trench to trench, ruthlessly cutting down anything moving?

"Get back inside, Mara," Luke said suddenly. "It's too dangerous out here."

He looked over at her with his big blue eyes, still gentle despite all that he'd seen and all that had happened to him, and she had to look away, feeling ashamed despite herself. If their sides were reversed, and Skywalker an agent of Vader, he'd be telling her to get out there and fight for the glory of the Empire and their leader. Instead, he was concerned for her safety, completely unsuspecting that she was as much his enemy as the Sith out there cutting down his friends.

Mara realized with a start that Luke intended to fight Nova, and she grabbed his arm. "Don't go out there," she warned. "He'll kill you!"

The young Jedi squared his shoulders, a determined look in his eye. "I have to," he said. "I'm the only one who can stop him."

Mara opened her mouth to say more, but then closed it, internally struggling. She couldn't betray Lord Vader and the Empire, but she'd grown to care about this young man and the rest of the Rebels in her three years with them. She didn't want to see him killed, him or any of the other people who'd been nothing but friendly to her since Alderaan.

_You're a horrible spy, Jade,_ she thought fiercely to herself. _Didn't Lord Vader train you better than this? These people deserve what's happening to them._

With a last look at Mara, Luke ignited his sapphire-blue lightsaber and charged out of the hanger, leaping out in a series of long bounds to the trenches. Mara closed her eyes and turned away, not wanting to see him cut down by the Sith Lord out there who had done the same to so many of his friends.

* * *

Luke tried fiercely to contain his fear as he sprinted over the snow. This would be the first time he actually fought one of Darth Vader's followers, the first time he confronted another being armed with the Force. He was nervous, to be sure, but he had to do it, or else this creature of the Dark Side would slaughter all his friends, including Leia, Han, Winter, Chewbacca, and Mara.

The young Jedi drew strength from thinking about Mara, feeding his determination with thoughts of protecting her from this Sith. It was his duty as a Jedi, just like Ben had taught him, to stand up against those who used the Dark Side.

As he crested the final snow-drift, Luke stood at the top and looked down at the other Force-wielder, who was leaping over to slash at a fleeing Rebel with his scarlet lightsaber. Concentrating, Luke sent a Force push down at the Sith, knocking him away from his prey. Darth Nova looked up at him sharply, locking onto this new threat like a missile's homing system.

"Hey!" Luke shouted down, trying not to let his nervousness show. "Why don't you try picking on someone your own size?"

The Sith Lord raised an openly mocking eyebrow, as if silently asking the young Jedi if he had really used such a clichéd line. Luke himself belatedly wished he'd thought of something better.

Pushing distractions aside, Luke raised his lightsaber to a defensive position, glaring back down at the man who'd already murdered a dozen of his friends. Darth Nova actually smiled, raising his own lightsaber. With a fierce shout, the Sith acrobatically somersaulted up the snow drift, covering a dozen meters in an instant with his jump.

Jumping aside, Luke slashed at Nova's back with his sapphire blade, but the Sith moved his own ruby lightsaber up to intercept. He kept his saber in position and twisted his body, moving until he mirrored Luke's position.

He stared at Luke with his yellow eyes, burning with the Dark Side, and Luke met his gaze resolutely, flexing his arms as he held the Sith back. Their lightsabers hissed and spat as they locked blades, each trying to force the other backwards.

Luke sensed Darth Nova summoning a reserve of Force energy, and as the Sith Lord pushed at him with the Force, Luke pushed back, shifting his feet in the snow for greater stability.

Finally, the two Force-users' respective pushes became too strong for the other to hold back, and each went flying backwards, tumbling through the air. Luke deactivated his lightsaber as he fell, and he rolled through the snow for a few meters before falling heavily into a trench.

Groaning, the young Jedi picked himself up, looking over at the Rebels who looked back at him with curious expressions. One of the men gestured up into the air behind Luke, and he turned to see a snowspeeder plummeting out of the sky right at him.

Luke seized the snowspeeder with the Force and slowed its descent, finally stopping it a few meters above the trench. The Rebel soldiers openly stared at the young Jedi as he concentrated, carefully setting the speeder down a few meters away. The pilot and his gunner leaped out, and not a moment too soon, for just as the gunner stepped off the wing of his craft, Darth Nova flipped it over and smashed it down on Luke.

But Luke was ready, and he ignited his lightsaber, slashing a wide hole through the speeder. It slammed into the snow with incredible force around him, and he pushed the debris aside as he leaped out of the hole he had cut, twisting in midair to land on top of a turret.

Darth Nova hurled his lightsaber at Luke, sending it spinning through the air like a deadly boomerang, and Luke jumped out of the way, ducking as it spun over his head. Nova sent the lightsaber whirling after him, and as Luke sprinted for the shape of its owner, he suddenly twisted and brought up his own blade, halting its spin on the shining blue beam of his own weapon.

The Sith Lord swept the disembodied lightsaber down at Luke's feet, but he somersaulted over it, coming down on its other side with the pommel facing him. Concentrating, Luke seized Nova's lightsaber with the Force and sent it at its owner like an arrow. The Sith leaned out of the way, grabbed his weapon as it shot past him, then leaped forward in a long flip to bring his glowing blade down in a powerful two-handed strike at Luke's head.

Luke caught the blow and held his opponent back, gritting his teeth with exertion. He could feel the Dark Side roiling within his opponent, flowing through him like some kind of drug, feeding him power. Luke drew strength from the other side of the Force, remembering Obi-Wan's years of training as he tried to push down his aggression, summoning calm to take its place.

Anger surged up, straining at its leash within his core as it begged to be let loose upon his enemy, pleaded to surge forth with rage and hate to rid the universe of this monster who had slaughtered so many. Luke knew all too well the dangers of letting go, but it was certainly tempting. It seemed to whisper to him in his mind, telling him that it would be different with him; _he_ could control himself. _He_ wouldn't repeat the same course as his father, wouldn't let anger drag him along behind it as it rushed headlong into disaster.

Darth Nova sneered at him over their crossed lightsabers. "I don't know what Lord Vader sees in you, boy," he said, voice strained with exertion. "You're just as weak as all the other Jedi we've killed."

Luke ignored the taunt, holding his opponent back as he gathered power. Giving no hint as to his intentions, Luke flexed his arms and started to push forward. Nova responded by pushing back twice as hard, exactly what Luke had counted on.

Suddenly, he seized Darth Nova's ankles with the Force and pulled backwards as hard as he could as he jumped aside. The surprised Sith toppled forward, and Luke swept his lightsaber down in an ending blow.

But unfortunately, that was the exact moment the Imperial walkers destroyed the shield generator. The massive shockwave off-balanced the young Jedi, and his saber hit the snow beside the Sith instead. In the next second, Nova blasted him with a stream of Force Lightning, and Luke stumbled back, falling down the snow drift.

When he finally came to a stop, groaning and still twitching from the lightning, Luke saw a massive fireball overhead as the orbiting Star Destroyers obliterated a Rebel transport. As he sensed the Sith Lord approaching, Luke painfully pulled himself to his feet and called his lightsaber to him from where it had landed during his tumble, wearily going off to engage his enemy again.

* * *

"Another transport coming into our sector, sir," an Imperial officer said to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"Destroy them," Thrawn said, looking down at the white globe below them through the viewports of the _Executor_'s bridge. "Inform the _Avenger_ and the _Relentless_ to move into position to begin orbital bombardment. As soon as General Veers brings down the shield, they are to destroy any craft still on the ground, as well as the hangar."

"Yes, sir," the communications officer said.

"Any sign of their fleet?" Admiral Piett asked behind Thrawn. The Grand Admiral turned his head slightly to listen to the report.

"No, sir," the sensor officer told Piett. "We've destroyed their communications satellites, and we've detected no long-range transmissions since the battle began."

"Good," Piett said. "Continue to jam their transmitters, and destroy them when the shield comes down."

"The Rebel shield is failing!" another sensor officer announced suddenly.

"Order our troops to withdraw," ordered Thrawn. "Then commence bombardment. Inform Lord Vader that he may start his landing."

Thrawn could see already that the Empire would have a victory this day. All that remained was to hunt down the Rebel fleet, and then this irritating movement would be crushed forever.

Once it was, the Empire could finally get down to the business of preparing for the true threat, the reason why nearly three entire fleets' worth of resources had been diverted to the Unknown Regions in a slow but steady stream over the course of Thrawn's decades-long collaboration with Darth Vader and his deceased master Darth Sidious before him.

Then, perhaps, Vader might finally make good on his promise, and provide the rest of the resources and troops in exchange for which Thrawn fought his wars and put up with his increasingly erratic moods.

For now, Syndic Mitth'raw'nurodo of the Chiss Ascendancy needed the Empire just as much as it needed him. Until the day that was no longer the case, he would remain Grand Admiral Thrawn and chase Rebels for the Emperor.

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: I meant to post this yesterday, but I didn't get the chance, as I was busy with other stuff. Work is progressing rapidly on the rest of the story, and I may be able to speed up posting times, depending on how well it goes.

Also, Zahn rules. His plots and characters are much too interesting for me not to use, as they provide very fun ways to play around with the story. Some of you may agree with me when I express the opinion that the people in charge of the EU should have let him write more novels about his plots, instead of mucking around so much with other stuff and screwing up the characters. (I refuse to acknowledge the existence of '_Legacy of the Force_' and anything after it till you get to the stuff about the Fel Empire and Cade Skywalker.) Now you see why I write my own Star Wars stories instead of reading the recent canon stuff. ;)

Till next chapter!


	3. Escape From Echo Base

**Three**  
(Escape from Echo Base)

Han Solo stumbled into a wall as an explosion rocked the Rebel base. He picked himself up, stepping over chunks of ice knocked out of the ceiling and other debris, and continued on into the command center.

The command center was a mess; consoles had fallen over, support beams had been knocked down, and damaged systems shot sparks periodically. Han squinted through the confusion, trying to locate the person he'd braved the explosions to check on.

Finally, he spotted her, still hunched over a console with an Alliance technician, issuing orders. Princess Leia glanced up as Han yelped in surprise when another explosion tried to toss him to the ground.

"Why are you still here?" Leia said impatiently.

"Nice to see you, too, Your Highness," Han replied, stepping over a fallen console. "I heard the command center'd been hit."

"You've got your clearance, Captain," Leia said, looking back at the screens. "You can leave any time."

"Oh, I'll leave, all right," Han said, finally arriving over the obstacle course to the princess. "I'm going to make sure you're on your transport first."

Leia nodded slightly in thanks as she turned back to the technician. "Give the final evacuation code, then get to your transport," she said to the woman manning the console.

When she gave no sign of leaving, Han grabbed her hand and pulled Leia along behind him, ignoring her protests. Another explosion tossed them roughly into a wall, and as they moved off to the tunnel leading to the hangar bay, C-3PO rushed over in a panic.

"Wait for me!" he said, moving as fast as his servomotors allowed.

"_Imperial troops have entered the base!_" the intercom squawked. _"Imperial troops have…_" Ominously, the panicked message ended in blaster fire and static.

"Come on!" Han said, pulling Leia along faster. He knew all too well what would happen if she was captured by Vader's troops, and there was no way he was going to let her suffer that fate.

They raced through the tunnels, but just as they were nearing the entrance to the transport bay, Han felt another shudder and pulled Leia back. As another powerful explosion shook Echo Base, the roof began to collapse, and Han shielded Leia with his own body, wincing as an ice fragment struck him between the shoulder blades.

He pulled his comlink out of his pocket as he looked at the blocked-off tunnel. "Transport, this is Solo," he said. "Better take off; I can't get to you. I'll get Leia out on the _Falcon_."

He took Leia's hand again and pulled her off back in the direction from which they had come, confusing Threepio, who stopped as they ran past him and turned around.

"Wh-Where are you going?" the protocol droid demanded, starting after them.

Han saw Mara Jade in the tunnel up ahead, and he waved at her as another turbolaser strike shook the base. "Come on, Red!" he shouted. "Tunnel's blocked!"

The red-haired young woman immediately ran with them, pulling ahead as they dodged falling ice chunks and other debris. Han spotted Winter as they neared the _Falcon_'s hangar, and he shouted for her to follow them as well.

Han and the three women ran through the tunnels, and as they finally drew near the hangar, a blaster shot rang out from behind them, blowing a hole in the tunnel wall by Leia's head. The princess reflexively ducked as Han spun and shot back with his blaster. Mara also pulled a blaster and fired a few bolts at the troopers, armored in white cold-weather gear. Threepio shouted in electronic terror, somehow managing not to get hit.

As Han rushed the three women ahead of him into the final stretch of tunnel, he spotted a tall, dark figure with the snowtroopers, a long black cloak billowing out as it moved rapidly down the corridor with the troops. The smuggler's eyes widened as he saw the glowing blue photoreceptor and recognized Darth Vader, who raised a gloved hand to point at the fleeing group.

"Move it!" he shouted, pushing Leia ahead of him through a door. He heard Threepio's brief protest as the door shut in front of him, and Han impatiently opened it again.

"How typical," Threepio said as the door opened, and Han grabbed his arm.

"Come on!" he said, pulling the droid into the hangar behind him. He shot the controls to the door as it closed, hoping to slow the troopers down for a moment.

Han turned and raced for the familiar shape of his ship, where Chewbacca waited beside the open ramp, bellowing for them to hurry up. Winter and Leia were the first aboard, Mara right behind them, and Han shouted ahead.

"Somebody get in the belly turret! There's stormtroopers right behind me!"

Winter nodded quickly as she dashed inside the _Millennium Falcon_, and Han increased his speed, dodging more falling ice and snow.

"Wait for me!" Threepio cried, shuffling as fast as he could manage through the hangar.

"Hurry it up, Goldenrod, or you're gonna be a permanent resident!" Han shouted over his shoulder as he ran up the ramp.

He waited for a moment at the controls, and as soon as the protocol droid set foot on the ramp, Han punched the button to raise it.

Han ran off to the cockpit, Chewie and Leia right behind him. Just as he entered the cockpit, the lights faded, and Han irritably smacked the panel over the door. As the lights reactivated, he caught Leia's smirk, and he briefly debated frowning at her or smirking right back.

All humor vanished from Han's expression as he tried the engines and received only a dull whining in response. He tried to lift off again, but nothing happened.

Chewbacca growled that something was wrong, and Han frowned as he looked at the status display. "You're right," the smuggler said. "C'mon, let's go see what the problem is."

"Would it help if I got out and pushed?" Leia asked sarcastically.

"It might!" Han shot back, just as blaster fire rocked the _Falcon._

The Corellian glanced outside to see white-armored troopers rushing in from outside, accompanied by the ebony-draped Vader, who swooped into the hangar like a bird of prey. Han felt a sudden quickening of his pulse as he and Chewbacca sprinted to the hold to frantically repair whatever was wrong so that they could get away from the Sith Master. He surely recognized the ship that had taken his eye at the Battle of Yavin, and Han knew it was all over if he caught them.

"Keep 'em off our backs for a minute!" Han shouted in the direction of the turrets, pausing to grab his toolbox as he and Chewbacca entered the hold.

The dull thump of the turret sounded a moment later, spraying the troopers and the Sith Master outside with burning streaks of light as well as chunks of ice and snow.

"Where's Luke when you need him?" Han muttered as he opened the service hatch.

* * *

Luke Skywalker clawed his way out of the pile of snow that had been knocked over him during the last turbolaser strike. As he wiped the snow from his hair and face, he called his lightsaber to his hand, igniting it as soon as the hilt touched his palm. However, he didn't see his opponent anywhere; as far as he could see, Luke was alone with a battlefield full of corpses and debris. Several Imperial walkers were still moving around, but a few had been toppled, cables tangled around their legs. A solitary snowspeeder still harassed an Imperial AT-AT, but as Luke watched, the gigantic metal beast swiveled its head and blasted the speeder to pieces with its cannons.

The young Jedi could sense no Rebels nearby, but as he searched the Force, he realized Darth Vader was within the base itself. Luke immediately made himself small in the Force, as Obi-Wan had shown him, hiding his presence from the Sith Master.

He looked around to see a field full of destroyed fighters and wrecked transports, but, miraculously, one X-wing remained unharmed. R2-D2 whistled urgently to him from his perch behind the cockpit of the fighter, and Luke immediately headed for his only way off the frozen world of Hoth, hoping he could avoid the blockade in orbit.

* * *

Han ran back into the _Falcon'_s cockpit, jumping into his chair as his hands flew over the controls. From the hold, Chewbacca bellowed for him to try again, and the smuggler initiated the start-up sequence. This time, he was rewarded with a satisfying roar from his battered starship's engines, and he grinned widely at Leia and Mara, who came forward into the cockpit and sat down in the rear seats.

"Someday," Leia said wryly, "you're going to be wrong, and I just hope I'm there to see it."

Mara snorted amusedly, adding, "Day? We'll be lucky to survive the hour."

Han just grinned wider as he lifted free of the ice with the repulsors and swiveled his ship to point out of the gaping mouth of the hangar. The belly turret continued to fire behind him, but ceased as Han gunned the engines and roared out of the cavern, rocking the troopers with his wake.

Immediately upon leaving the hangar, Han had to dodge an incoming turbolaser bolt, and he swerved his freighter to the right, wincing at the closeness of the blast. He glanced behind to see the shot demolish the mouth of the hangar, and he shook his head, knowing how close they'd come to being trapped inside.

As Chewbacca entered the cockpit and took his usual place, he growled to Han that he had smelled further damage while he was fixing the engines, and that they might have to find a place to hide so they could effect repairs.

"Great," Han muttered to himself. "Just fantastic." He glanced over his shoulder at the two women sitting behind him. "Hold on," he said, and as he turned his gaze to the front, he saw one solitary X-wing lifting off nearby, also dodging the punishing rain of turbolaser fire.

There were no other intact Rebel ships still moving. Hadn't anyone else escaped? Han shook his head and grimly returned his attention to his task. Getting Leia out of here was more important.

"What's the widest space between the destroyers up there?" Han asked Chewbacca. The Wookiee studied his sensor board for a moment before barking a response, and Han hauled the _Falcon _over to race for it, hoping nothing else went wrong before they could jump to hyperspace.

* * *

Darth Vader gathered the Force and blasted the tons of ice blocking the entrance to the Rebel hangar aside, storming outside to watch the _Millennium Falcon_ soar up into the atmosphere. He saw an X-wing swooping away on a different heading, but he sensed a Force-sensitive aboard the _Falcon_ and focused his attention on it.

He could sense Jade, but there was another, a presence he thought might be his son's, though it didn't feel quite the same as it had on previous occasions. It was much fainter, and he wasn't sure what it was, though as he concentrated, he was able to determine the Force presence was someone other than Jade. He knew of no other Force-sensitives within the Rebel ranks, and his curiosity was piqued; the more he focused on the presence, the more he was sure it was not his son.

Who else was aboard that freighter? And where was Luke?

Vader's attention was drawn to movement off in the distance, and looked down at the object, zooming in with the telescopic function of his mechanical eye. As the figure ignited a ruby-red lightsaber, Vader frowned, recognizing his apprentice.

He strode out of the hangar and over the ice, picking his way through the debris left by the destroyed fighters and transports outside. Darth Nova saw him and raced over with a series of Force-assisted jumps.

The Sith Master stopped and waited for his apprentice to come to him, the cold Hoth wind whipping his cloak around him as it roared in his ears. He folded his arms over his chest, letting his displeasure show plainly on his face as Nova approached.

"Where is Skywalker?" Vader asked before Nova could say anything.

"I tried to capture him," the younger Sith replied, "but as we fought, the turbolaser bombardment knocked us apart. I have not seen him since then."

"He has escaped," Vader said dangerously. "You have failed me again."

Nova looked up, attempting to hide his desperation. "He is skilled, Master, more skilled than I had thought him. If I may say so, he is more powerful than any Force-user I have ever encountered except you."

"This is true," Vader agreed, looking up at the rapidly vanishing dot of the _Millennium Falcon_. "That is why I told you to bring him to me."

Vader realized that, although he had sensed nothing from the X-wing, Luke had to be its pilot. He was not on any of the transports, nor was he on the Corellian freighter.

"Atone for your failure by tracking Skywalker's fighter," he said. "Return to your ship and follow him. The Interdictor above will force him to remain at sublight until he can move beyond its field."

Nova bowed his head. "Yes, my Master." He hurried off in the direction of the Rebel base, and Vader watched him go for a moment.

The Sith Master brought out his comlink, signaling his shuttle. "Tell Grand Admiral Thrawn that he is to capture the _Millennium Falcon._ Coordinate the fleet so that they cannot get away. I will be returning to the _Executor _immediately."

"_Yes, my lord,"_ the pilot responded.

Vader turned and walked back to the hangar, sensing that he was very close to finally meeting his son. Plans formed in his mind for the capture of both the _Millennium Falcon_ and his son. He was confident that, despite his failure during the battle, Nova would be able to track the X-wing. Solo and his heavily modified ship would prove somewhat more difficult. Perhaps some outside help was in order…

* * *

Luke roared away from Hoth in his X-wing fighter, leaving the Star Destroyers and their accompanying Interdictor behind as quickly as he could. As he accelerated his fighter to its maximum speed, angling up for a hyperspace trajectory, he was surprised to see nothing else moving besides the Imperial fleet. Was he the only one who had escaped?

R2-D2 let out a low, mournful whistle behind him, and Luke glanced at his screen for the translation. Apparently, the astromech's sensors reported that from the debris scattered over Hoth, almost every Rebel transport had been either destroyed or captured. Only two or three had escaped.

Luke felt sick at this; most of the people he had lived and worked with over the last three years were now either dead or in Imperial captivity, which was almost worse. So many people had died around him for the Rebellion, and it looked like the death wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Vader would stop at nothing to get to him, Luke knew, and as long as he was around, none of his friends were safe.

The young Jedi hissed a Huttese curse under his breath as he smacked a fist into the bulkhead next to him. Even with all he had done for the cause, he sometimes felt that the Rebellion would have been better off if he'd never left Tatooine. At least Ben would still be alive.

No, he realized. If not for him, Leia and her family would have been executed by Vader on Alderaan, and Vader would have wiped out the Rebel base anyway once he finally tortured its location out of either Bail Organa or his daughter.

Artoo burbled that he did see one ship moving among the Imperial fleet, and that it was being fired on, so it wasn't an enemy vessel. Luke looked at the sensor readings himself, and from both the power of the engines and the wild maneuvers, he knew it had to be the _Millennium Falcon_.

Luke started to haul over to race for the Corellian freighter, intending to help at least Han and whoever else he'd managed to bring with him escape the Empire. But partway through the maneuver, a bright green lance of blaster fire screamed past his cockpit, bright enough to blind him momentarily.

As he tried to blink the afterimage out of his vision, Luke swerved wildly, trying to prevent whoever had shot at him from getting a target lock. Artoo shrieked as more blaster fire peppered the upper hull, reporting that the shields were nearly depleted, and Luke pushed the X-wing in a swooping dive, trying to outrace his pursuer.

With a sinking feeling, he recognized the overwhelmingly powerful Force presence of Darth Nova behind him. Vader's apprentice was still after him, it seemed, and Luke knew he would not give up.

"Artoo, do you have a hyperspace trajectory plotted?" he asked the droid behind him as he continued to twist his fighter through stomach-turning maneuvers, avoiding the green rain of blaster fire from Nova's ship.

The droid whistled back, and Luke made a desperate noise. "I don't care where!" he shouted. "Just get us out of here!"

Artoo computed for a moment as Luke tried as hard as he could to lose his pursuer, and when he finally bleeped that he was ready, Luke pushed his fighter into hyperspace and fled the battle.

In his own vessel, Darth Nova silently tracked Skywalker's vector and plotted his own hyperspace jump. He would chase the boy across the galaxy, if need be.

* * *

"Captain Solo, if I might-"

"Shut him up or shut him down!" Han Solo snarled over his shoulder, wrestling with the controls of his vessel as he pushed it between two massive white Star Destroyers.

C-3PO squawked in electronic terror as Han swooped the _Falcon_ so close to the Star Destroyer's hull that Winter in the belly turret probably could have touched it if she reached beyond the bubble protecting her seat.

A storm of green light blazed around his ship, some bolts turbolaser fire and some blaster fire from the swarm of TIE fighters screaming after them. Han twisted the _Falcon_ through a dizzying corkscrew, gritting his teeth as the g-forces pressed him into his seat.

Chewbacca howled that the engines were unlikely to permit these kinds of maneuvers much longer, and Han grunted in frustration.

"I know, I know!" he said between gritted teeth, dodging another slew of turbolaser bolts. "Get the calculations started; I want to go to lightspeed as soon as we can." He watched the upper turret fire across the path of one of their TIE fighter pursuers, which drove the pilot right into the path of the other turret's fire. Han grinned; they were getting good at that.

"How's the deflector shield?" Han asked as he tipped the ship on its side to swerve over the side of the Star Destroyer, intending to fly under its belly for a few dozen meters before popping back up on the other side.

Chewbacca reported that the deflectors were taking heavy damage, and they would be lucky to sustain even one more turbolaser blast.

"Great," Han growled. "Well, we can still out-maneuver 'em!"

He pulled a tight turn over the edge of the Star Destroyer's hull, too tight for one of their pursuers to follow, and the TIE smashed into the hull, detonating in a bright fireball. Han grinned fiercely; he just loved doing that.

As Chewie informed him the hyperspace jump was plotted, Han pulled the _Falcon_ straight up relative to the massive Imperial ship and punched his engines for all they were worth. A pack of TIE fighters howled after him, close as hounds nipping at his heels.

"They're getting closer," Leia warned.

"Oh, yeah?" Han challenged. "Watch this." He reached forward and threw the hyperspace lever.

His grin turned to a frown as nothing happened.

"Watch what?" Leia said impatiently, leaning forward in her seat.

"I think we're in trouble," Han said, trying again.

"If I may, sir," Threepio ventured, "I noticed earlier that the hyperdrive motivator has been damaged. It's impossible to go to lightspeed."

Chewbacca howled angrily as Han exclaimed, "We're in trouble!"

He jerked the controls down, swerving wildly as he attempted to think of a new plan.

The TIE fighters and the huge white Star Destroyer roared after them in close pursuit, predators smelling blood.

* * *

Luke emerged from his brief hyperspace jump and immediately set his navicomputer to plot a course to Dagobah; he'd looked the system up during the flight, and had discovered that the database listed the system as uninhabited and essentially unimportant, barely worth a mention aside from the fact that an old Republic survey team had catalogued it decades before he was born.

It was a good place for a fugitive Jedi Master to hide, he thought. With Vader's attention so occupied on hunting down the Rebellion, he hardly had time to search all of the multitudinous planetary systems of the galaxy, and so Master Yoda was relatively safe there.

At an interrogatory beep from Artoo, Luke replied, "We're going to the Dagobah system."

Another questioning trill.

"No, we're not going to regroup with the others," Luke said, a trace of resignation in his voice.

Artoo whistled sadly, and Luke nodded as he read the translation coming across on his screen. "I hope they got away, too," he said quietly.

The computations complete, Luke engaged the hyperdrive and settled in for the trip to Dagobah.

A silent black starship, which had been waiting for him out of the sensor range of the young Jedi's X-wing when he emerged from hyperspace, again tracked his trajectory and activated its own, faster hyperdrive, its grim pilot intending to capture Skywalker when he arrived at his destination.

Darth Nova would not fail his master again.

* * *

Leaving the flying to Leia and Mara, Han raced back with Chewbacca to attempt to repair their ship's hyperdrive. He gritted his teeth at each dull thump, knowing his freighter's shields wouldn't hold out much longer against this assault.

His torso jammed inside a maintenance hatch, Han called out systems for Chewbacca to check. "Horizontal boosters!"

Chewbacca growled that that system was functioning properly; it wasn't the problem.

"Alluvial dampers?"

Another growl; that wasn't it, either.

Han growled himself, in frustration. "All right, bring me the hydrospanners," he said, pulling himself further inside the hatch.

The _Falcon_ shook under another Imperial blast, and Han grunted a curse under his breath; he _really_ wished those damned Imps would leave them alone.

Chewbacca set the box of tools down at the edge of the hatch, and Han nodded his thanks as he picked up one of the hydrospanners. "I don't know how we're going to get out of this one," he confided. Chewbacca barked grimly in response. Han ducked back into the hatch to resume working.

A jarring _thump_ shook the ship and toppled the box right onto Han's head.

"Ow! Chewie!" Han hollered irritably, popping back up out of the hatch. The _Falcon _rocked again, and Han frowned. "That wasn't a laser blast; something hit us!"

"_Han, get up here!_" Leia's voice insisted over the intercom.

"Come on, Chewie," Han said to his friend as he bolted up to see what was wrong now. Could this day get any worse?

_Oh, yes it can,_ Han thought to himself as he entered the cockpit.

"Asteroids," Leia said from the copilot's seat, gesturing to the cloud of floating rock outside the viewport.

"Oh, no," Han said distractedly, already thinking as he gestured for Mara to get out of his chair. The red-haired Rebel moved to the chair behind his, and Han cast a quick glance over the sensor boards as he settled in.

"Chewie, set two-seven-one," Han ordered as the Wookiee sat down in his own chair, trying to remain calm.

"What are you doing?" Leia demanded, guessing at his intentions from the course. "You're not actually going _into_ the asteroid field?" she said incredulously.

"They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?" Han replied, intently adjusting controls.

"Not half as crazy as _you_," Mara said from behind him.

"You don't have to do this to impress me," Leia said nervously, sinking into the chair behind Chewbacca.

"Sir the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one!" Threepio exclaimed at the rear of the cockpit, forced to stand.

"Never tell me the odds!" Han said tightly, twisting the controls to swerve around a huge, heavily cratered rock in front of them.

Han was starting to have a bit of fun now; this was a lot like that race he'd flown at Ord Mantell a few months ago, except this time he was getting shot at.

He glanced at the rear sensors to see that several TIE fighters had followed them in, careening around the floating asteroids in hot pursuit. "Red, go get in the other turret," Han said over his shoulder. "You and Winter keep 'em away as best you can."

Mara nodded as she got up, and Threepio quickly ducked into her seat, making nervous noises.

Chewbacca howled as a line of green blaster fire stitched its way past them, but even as the dorsal turret swiveled to fire, the TIE plowed right into a small asteroid, detonating violently. One of his companions tried to avoid the explosion, and in so doing, ran into yet another asteroid.

Han swooped the _Falcon_ between two of the larger chunks of rock, forcing the less bold TIE pilots to go around, and in the brief pause, Han twisted further and forced another TIE fighter into an asteroid.

Somehow, Han observed wryly despite the situation, it didn't seem quite fair that the larger _Falcon_ was able to avoid the asteroids more easily than the TIE fighters. But then, he amended, Imperial pilots weren't anywhere near his level. They just weren't that good, or as handsome.

His spirits lifted by his inner joke, Han whooped as he spun his freighter around an asteroid and under another, making tighter turns than the TIEs could keep up with.

He abruptly sobered as one of the smaller rocks, about the size of a speeder, nearly sheared off the cockpit before he maneuvered out of the way. "You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake," he said to Leia. "This might be it, sweetheart."

"I take it back!" Leia replied, her voice betraying her nervousness at his wild flying. She leaned forward. "We're going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer."

"Ain't gonna argue with that," Han agreed. A plan formed in his mind. "I'm going closer to one of the big ones."

"Closer?" Leia exclaimed.

"Closer?" Threepio echoed, horrified.

Chewbacca growled for the droid to shut up, but then added a further comment to Han that he thought this tactic might be too risky. Or, more accurately, he told Han he thought the Corellian was going to get them killed this time.

Han did not reply, diving for one of the bigger asteroids in their path as he dodged a smaller one, about the size of the _Falcon _itself. Several TIE fighters followed them, despite the fact that they now had to dodge turret fire as well as smaller chunks of rock.

The space around them was practically so thick with asteroids that he almost couldn't see the massive white bulk of one of the Star Destroyers behind them. They _definitely_ had to get away from the big ship, but to do that they first had to lose the fighters.

Han swooped his ship into one of the larger craters, and the TIEs followed, so, gritting his teeth, he accelerated and pushed closer to the crater floor. Upon reaching the far side of the crater, Han tilted the _Falcon_ on its side and sent it through a narrow crevice, and the TIE fighters tried to follow, but collided first with the rock walls and then each other, smashing apart and then exploding moments later.

Looking down at the terrain-following sensors, Han nodded. "There," he said to Chewie, pointing. "That looks pretty good."

"What looks good?" Leia asked, leaning forward again.

Han didn't answer, reaching up to adjust more controls. "Yeah," he said, mostly to himself, "that'll do nicely."

Now that they were temporarily out of sight, Han made for the crater he'd seen earlier, specifically the cave in the bottom. Pleased to see that a tunnel extended back from the cave entrance, Han slowed down and moved farther down the long, narrow tunnel, looking for a good place to set down.

With all the metal in the asteroids around them, this would be an ideal place to hide and wait for the Empire's forces to move on before sneaking away, Han thought.

As they flew down the tunnel, Han flashed a grin at the princess, assuring her that he knew what he was doing.

From her skeptical expression, it was clear she was rather less confident.

* * *

Aboard the _Executor,_ Admiral Piett hurried to Lord Vader's quarters to give him an update. The Dark Lord had opted to leave command of the pursuit to Grand Admiral Thrawn, who remained on the bridge, intently studying the pursuit ships' reports on Solo's maneuvers as he formulated a counterstrategy.

Piett thought that Lord Vader had decided Thrawn could handle the pursuit, and was staying out of the way down here so as not to make his officers nervous by breathing down their necks as they did their jobs. Truthfully, Piett thought he was getting in Thrawn's way on the bridge himself, which was why he had decided to leave for a few moments to deliver the report personally. This needed Lord Vader's input, anyway.

The door opened in front of him as he paused, so Piett continued on inside to find Lord Vader sitting in his chair, his hands draped over the armrests and his eyes closed, apparently in meditation. He opened his natural eye, the eerie mechanical replacement flaring to life in sync, and looked over at Piett as he approached.

Piett instinctively stiffened as he felt that terrible will focus on him.

"Yes, Admiral?" Vader inquired, adopting a patient expression.

"Our ships have sighted the _Millennium Falcon, _my lord," Piett began nervously, "but it has entered an asteroid field, and we cannot risk-"

"Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral," Lord Vader interrupted, a dangerous edge to his voice that implied he was displeased at being bothered for something he considered trivial. "I want that ship, not excuses."

Piett nodded resignedly; he had been afraid of that. "Yes, my lord," he said, bowing his head as he backed out of the chamber.

He frowned as he headed back up to the bridge; taking the _Executor_ itself inside the asteroid field would result in a considerable amount of damage, but there was really no other way. A ship that small could evade pursuit in the maze of rock for days, and the only real way to prevent escape was to surround them while they could still be tracked.

As Piett entered the bridge, Thrawn looked up, focusing on him with his unnerving red eyes. Piett thought to himself momentarily that he was somewhat unfortunate to have not one but _two_ superiors who made him very uncomfortable just by meeting his gaze, but pushed the thought from his mind as he approached.

"What are Lord Vader's orders?" Thrawn asked with enviable calm.

"We are to continue pursuit," Piett replied.

Thrawn's face remained passive, giving no indication of what he was thinking. "Very well, Admiral," he said to Piett. "Take us in."

"Auxiliary power to the deflector shields," Piett ordered, moving further along the command walkway. "Instruct all batteries to keep the asteroids away from the hull wherever possible."

As the bridge crew carried out his orders, Thrawn approached, gesturing to the display behind them, which indicated the reports coming in from the other Star Destroyers as they spread their net.

"Solo is heading deeper into the field," Thrawn said thoughtfully. "He is reckless, though skilled, but he knows even he cannot avoid a collision forever, particularly with our fighters after him."

"Do you suppose he'll try to double back?" Piett asked. "He may try to head for a less dense portion of the field."

"No," Thrawn replied. "He'll do exactly the opposite. Solo will find an area difficult to search and then try to hide there, assuming, correctly, that we are too big to follow him."

The Grand Admiral clasped his hands behind his back, looking over at the bridge windows and the dense field of rock beyond. "The high metal content of these asteroids is interfering with our sensors," he said quietly. "If Solo shuts down his systems, he will be nearly impossible to find."

Piett deflated at this, dreading having to report it to Lord Vader. He was further depressed by the news that the _Avenger_ had lost contact with the TIE fighters who had pursuing the Rebel ship, and therefore did not know the _Millennium Falcon_'s position at the moment. They'd lost them, Piett thought with a sinking feeling. Lord Vader was going to be very displeased.

"I said 'nearly', Admiral," Thrawn said once the report finished, glancing back over at Piett with a faint ghost of a smile. "Not 'completely'. Observe." He gestured Piett closer, and the admiral examined the sensor display the senior officer indicated.

It was a camera recording taken by the _Avenger_ and automatically beamed to the flagship along with the rest of its reports every five minutes. As Piett watched, the _Millennium Falcon_ swooped over the edge of the Star Destroyer from underneath, headed straight up, and then paused for a moment.

"What's he doing?" Piett said as he peered closer at the footage. "It almost looks like he might have went to lightspeed just then, but he didn't. Was it the Interdictor?"

"No," Thrawn replied. "The Interdictor is back with the rest of the fleet at the Rebel base, ensuring no one else escapes. We are out of range, and so was Solo when this was taken." Before Piett could ask, he explained. "Something is wrong with the _Millennium Falcon_'s hyperdrive," Thrawn said, indicating the rest of the recording. "Immediately after this pause, he abruptly shifted direction and headed directly for the asteroid field, no doubt attempting to lose us there while he effects repairs."

The Grand Admiral's eyes glittered briefly as a hint of a smile played over his face. "Solo is hiding from us, Admiral, but he cannot do so forever. His ship is damaged, and he may not be able to repair it with what he has aboard. He will have to seek shelter somewhere." He turned to one of the officers down in the crew pits. "Get me a list of all nearby inhabited systems," he ordered. "Particularly ones not patrolled by Imperial forces."

Piett blinked, amazed at the speed of Thrawn's deductions; they had only lost the _Millennium Falcon_ a few minutes ago.

"A good commander is always prepared, Admiral," Thrawn said in response to Piett's surprise. "I would prefer to catch Solo here, but we must attempt to predict his next move, should he manage to evade us."

Piett smiled tightly to himself. This was why he much preferred working with Thrawn to that idiot Ozzel; Thrawn was not so arrogantly assured of his own superiority that he discounted any possibility of intelligence among his enemies, and included possible setbacks in his strategy.

"The _Avenger_ reports still no sign of the Rebel ship," the comm officer announced.

"Yes, Solo is hiding," Thrawn said to Piett. "He will stay wherever he is for a few minutes at least, possibly several hours, depending on the extent of his repairs." He turned to the comm officer. "Tell Captain Needa to dispatch his bombers to the largest asteroids along Solo's last known trajectory. He's likely in a cave or deep crevice somewhere, so we'll have to flush him out."

Thrawn paused for a moment, then turned to the comm officer again. "Order the _Relentless_ and the _Judicator_ to head up, above the asteroid field, where they might have a better vantage point. I want the best spots for a hyperspace jump covered, so that Solo will have to fight his way out."

"Here is that list you asked for, sir," a crewman said as he approached, and handed a datapad to the Grand Admiral. Piett looked over his shoulder as Thrawn scrolled down the list of nearby systems, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Ship approaching," a sensor officer reported. "_Firespray_-class patrol vessel, ID broadcasting as _Slave I_, registered to-"

"Boba Fett," Thrawn finished for him, looking up from the datapad at Piett with a slight frown. Piett agreed; what was a bounty hunter doing out here?

"Hunter Fett requests permission to board," a comm officer reported. "He says Lord Vader requested him."

Moments later, three more bounty hunters showed up, broadcasting similar reports.

"It appears the Emperor has summoned a bit of outside assistance," Thrawn said, appearing mildly annoyed.

Piett was more than mildly annoyed; he was irritated. "Bounty hunters," he scoffed. "We don't need their scum."

"One should hope so," Thrawn replied. "But, you can never be too prepared."

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: Due to some unexpected delays, I wasn't able to post this as soon as I wanted, but the next chapter should be up shortly. Thanks to all readers and reviewers.


	4. This Ground Sure Feels Strange

**Four**  
("This Ground Sure Feels Strange")

Mara Jade sat in the main hold of the _Millennium Falcon_, listening to the distant, low-pitched thumps as the Imperial TIE bombers above dropped bombs at random into the crevices of the asteroid they were hiding in, trying to flush them out.

For the first time in a long while, Mara lowered her mental shields and stretched out into the Force; with Luke Skywalker spending so much time around her, and growing more powerful and more skilled all the time, it was getting harder and harder to hide her talents from him. He'd remarked two or three times over the years that he thought she might have Force affinity, which meant he'd sensed her anyway despite her best efforts.

But here, in the heart of the asteroid field, with Skywalker long gone, there was no one around to sense her but her master, whom she knew was somewhere nearby. If she could alert him through the Force, he could find some way of taking the _Millennium Falcon_ intact, without spooking Solo into doing something even more reckless.

Mara closed her eyes and systematically tuned out the various noises around her in the smuggling vessel, from Solo and the Wookiee swearing at their ship and occasionally each other deep in the hold, to the protocol droid clanking around as he did his best to help but mostly just got in the way.

As Mara extended herself into the Force, she was immediately startled to recognize another Force-sensitive presence, and very close by, as well.

Who in the galaxy was on this ship that could touch the Force besides her?

Cautiously, Mara opened her eyes and focused on the other presence, which was faint, almost… weak, but that wasn't the right word for it. It felt quite a lot like Luke, but different somehow, without the sense of simmering, tightly controlled power that was so similar to his father. Whoever it was, they might not know about their own power, Mara thought as she focused further.

That made sense; if the Rebellion had another Jedi besides Luke, she would have known about it by now. But who was it? Han, maybe? Solo did have an almost unnatural good luck about him, which could conceivably be him unconsciously exerting the Force to work situations to his advantage.

Mara quested after Han's presence, focusing on him, but after a few moments frowned, crossing him off her list. No, Han was a bright spot in the Force, but nowhere near as bright as a Force-sensitive.

Mara got up, crossing the hold as she tightened her perceptions around the Force-sensitive; she still wasn't sure who it was, as she had never used the Force around the other Rebels enough to get a sense of how they looked through higher senses.

She took a slow step in the direction of the Force-sensitive, trying not to let the other know she was here; the last thing she wanted was for the Rebels, especially the ones on this ship, to know that she was Force-sensitive as well.

Mara reached the door leading up to the cockpit, sensing that the Force-sensitive was there, opened the door…

And came face-to-face with Leia Organa, whose face bore an expression of both puzzlement and suspicion, like something was bothering her but she did not know what. Most telling, she was not at all startled at seeing Mara there, like she had somehow known she was on the other side of the door.

Very careful not to let anything show on her face, Mara instead adopted a quizzical expression. "What is it, Leia?" she asked, keeping her tone light.

Leia's thoughtful expression deepened, and Mara distinctly felt the other Force presence swivel in her direction, as if looking but being extremely obvious about it, without skill or even a hint of training. Mara quickly made herself small in the Force, withdrawing from the questing presence, and she felt it move on.

"I don't know," Leia replied distractedly. "I… I felt something."

"Like what?" Mara asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly, her tone still light and mildly curious. The Force-sensitive was Organa, all right, though she was surprised at this. How had no one sensed this before? Organa had spent time around many Sith, including Vader himself. If anyone should have recognized the Alderaanian princess was Force-sensitive, it was the Emperor.

Mara gestured upwards, keeping her expression mild. "The Imperials are dropping bombs, looking for us," she said. "They're shaking the whole asteroid."

"No," Leia said, still distractedly puzzled. "It was something else. I can't quite explain it. It was like nothing I've ever felt before, and I don't really know how to describe it."

"Huh," Mara said, doing as best she could to give the impression of puzzlement and slight disbelief, as if she didn't understand what Leia was talking about.

Leia shook her head. "It's nothing," she said. "Must be nerves."

"Battle tends to do that to you," Mara agreed, still carefully avoiding what she was now sure was an unconscious probe of the Force by Organa; the fact that Leia didn't know she was doing it made it all the more dangerous, as she would likely interpret anything she sensed from Mara as a suspicious hunch, like most untrained Force-sensitives did. She certainly didn't need any of the Rebels suspicious of her.

"I'd better go see if Han needs any help," Leia said, giving Mara one last puzzled look before she moved off.

Mara nodded acknowledgment, watching the princess for a moment as she left. This was both good and bad; good, because Lord Vader was always looking for new recruits, and despite her political leanings, it was certainly possible he'd be able to turn her to his view of the Force, but bad because this meant Mara would have to be extra careful about use of the Force around Organa. And also because she had come to think of Leia as somewhat of a friend, and she knew what she would become under the instruction of the Sith.

The fact that this bothered her once again raised her persistent internal debate, which never failed to leave Mara in a bad mood after a few minutes of thinking about it.

Frowning angrily to herself, Mara went off to the back of the starship to find something to take her mind off that particular train of thought.

* * *

Luke Skywalker frowned to himself as he looked down at the mottled green-and-brown sphere of the planet Dagobah beneath him, swirling with heavy clouds and mists.

"I'm not picking up any cities or technology," he remarked to R2-D2. "Massive life-form readings, though." He paused for a moment. "There's _something_ alive down there, at least."

Artoo burbled a nervous comment.

"Yes, I'm sure it's perfectly safe for droids," Luke said, fighting the urge to sigh. Both he and Threepio were like that sometimes. It was somewhat annoying, but also a bit amusing as well.

"All right," Luke said finally. "Let's see what's down there."

He angled his small fighter down and swooped through the clouds, half depending on the Force to guide his hand. Even just one planet was still a big place for a Jedi Master to hide, especially if he was trying not to be found.

But then, as soon as Luke's X-wing was through the atmosphere, all his systems went dead. Artoo screeched in electronic panic, whistling furiously. Luke fought to keep calm himself, though inwardly he felt just as nervous.

"I can't see a thing!" he exclaimed, straining to see past the thick mist surrounding his vessel. His sensors were no help; the fighter was no longer moving under its own power, and he might as well have been riding a flying rock for all the good his equipment was doing him.

Slowly, the mists cleared, revealing mile after mile of thick, murky swamp, filled with dozens of living creatures he could both see and feel through the Force. No wonder Yoda had chosen this planet for his exile; it was hard to differentiate one creature from another through all the chaos out there.

After perhaps fifteen minutes of flight, Luke's X-wing abruptly turned itself back on long enough to initiate the landing cycle. Nothing he did to the controls affected them in any way, so Luke was still forced to just sit back and wait.

When the fighter finally settled, Luke popped the canopy and clambered out, one hand on his weapons as he looked around through the oppressively muggy swamp.

His attention was drawn to the front of the X-wing by the Force, and Luke looked over in that direction.

Standing there, a few meters in front of the fighter's nose, was a short, green-skinned being with long pointed ears, dressed in tan and brown robes. He leaned on a walking stick, his expression passive as he looked directly at Luke, his gaze both penetrating and welcoming.

Obi-Wan had once described the other Jedi Master present at Luke's birth, and so the young Jedi immediately recognized the alien.

"A long time have I waited for you," Master Yoda said gravely. He took a slow step forward, gesturing at Luke with his walking stick. "Much there is for you to learn, young Skywalker."

* * *

Princess Leia was about to head to the rear of the _Millennium Falcon_ when its captain passed her, walking quickly up to the cockpit. Chewbacca followed him, growling something at Han in his language to which the Corellian responded with, "Well, there's gotta be a problem _somewhere_, Chewie! Hyperdrives don't fail just 'cause they feel like it."

"On this ship, they do," Mara Jade quipped, passing through on her way to the forward section, a box of tools in her hand.

Han fixed her with a look halfway between amusement and annoyance as he headed into the cockpit. Chewbacca followed, growling and barking more concerned-sounding statements.

Threepio and Winter were both in the cockpit, the young woman looking over the instruments while the droid chattered along about something or other that had once happened in the Alderaanian Royal Court. Leia half-smiled to herself as Winter politely nodded in the appropriate places when the protocol droid paused; she probably remembered the event better than he did.

"Anything?" Han asked Winter as he leaned over the pilot's half of the console, looking at the monitors.

"The diagnostic programs aren't telling me anything about the hyperdrive," she replied calmly, looking up at him. She brushed a lock of pure white hair away from her face. "Your ship has a very… unique way of monitoring its own systems."

Chewbacca snorted ironically, growling something along the lines of,_ There's an understatement_.

Spotting a flicker of movement outside, Leia moved toward the cockpit viewport to get a better look, brushing past Han as he moved to look over Winter's shoulder at her monitors.

The ship shuddered slightly, shaking it just enough to make everyone sway where they were standing.

"It's quite possible this asteroid is not entirely stable," Threepio observed, peering nervously out of the cockpit viewport.

"Not entirely stable, huh?" Han said sarcastically. "Well, I'm glad you're here to tell us these things." He gestured sharply over his shoulder, looking over at his copilot. "Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive."

"I'm only trying to do my job," Threepio said, sounding hurt as Chewbacca ushered him off through the ship. "Sometimes I just don't understand human behavior."

Almost immediately after the door closed, the whole ship lurched violently, knocking Leia off-balance. She fell into Han, and both of them toppled into the chair behind the pilot's. Han tightened his hold around her until the shaking subsided, and for a few moments afterward as well.

"Let go," Leia said, feeling a tinge of embarrassment. She noticed despite herself that Han's arms were very strong; she could feel his muscles even through his sleeves. She shifted a bit, flushing.

Han did not move except to hold up one finger, looking up at the dim cavern outside through the viewport with a concerned, thoughtful expression on his face.

"Let go!" Leia said again, even more embarrassed now.

"Don't get excited!" he said, his face close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited," Leia snapped, hoping he couldn't see her blushing.

"All right," Han said as he stood up, easily lifting her to her feet in the same motion. He turned back and grinned salaciously. "We haven't got time for anything else."

Leia blushed an even deeper shade of red, and Han laughed to himself as he left the cockpit. She turned away, fuming, and glared at Winter as she noticed the barest hint of a smile quickly leave her friend's face.

Winter gave her an innocent look. "What?" she said, a tiny, almost undetectable amount of teasing in both her question and expression.

Leia sighed angrily and stormed out of the cockpit, thinking all sorts of unfriendly things about a certain Corellian smuggler who thought entirely too much of himself.

* * *

"Master Yoda," Luke said, trying to sound respectful through his awe. Obi-Wan had told him much about the fallen Jedi Order's Grand Master, one of those few who survived the great purge.

"Come to learn, you have," Yoda said, moving forward slowly, leaning heavily on his walking stick. "Much Obi-Wan taught you, but much more do you still not know."

Luke frowned in puzzlement; Obi-Wan had told him not long before they left Tatooine that Luke was nearing the end of his training, that he would soon be a Jedi Knight in his own right.

"Know how to control the Force, you do," said Yoda, looking up at him with penetrating, seemingly all-knowing eyes. "But a Jedi you are not. Not yet."

"What do you mean, Master?" Luke asked, shifting as he adjusted his flight suit. His lightsaber bumped against his leg with the motion, and as was his usual habit, Luke brought one hand up to rest on his belt just above the pommel.

Yoda strode forward and poked Luke in the chest with the end of his walking stick, not quite frowning. "Much anger I sense in you. Much like Vader."

Luke fought to control his instinctive flare of rage at being compared to the monster who had once been his father. Despite himself, he knew a glare formed on his face.

Yoda nodded, disappointment in his eyes. "Yes, much like your father you are," he said quietly. "Too much perhaps." He looked off into the swamp, his long ears twitching slightly. "Control himself, he could not, and Vader he became."

The diminutive Jedi Master turned suddenly and jabbed Luke in the chest again with his stick, hard enough to make the young man move back a step. "On his path, you are," Yoda said gravely. "Repeat his mistakes, you will, if control yourself, you do not."

Luke was shocked; he'd tried his entire life not to be anything like his father. He was so ashamed and angry at all the things Anakin Skywalker had done that he had long ago resolved to himself to make sure he turned out nothing like him.

Yoda peered up at him, his ancient eyes sharpening. "Hate him, do you?"

Luke tried to say he didn't, but he knew it would be a lie. Instead he said nothing, breaking eye contact to look back at his ship. Artoo whistled at him from his perch behind the cockpit, letting him know he wanted down.

"A Jedi does not hate," Yoda said. "A Jedi, you will not be until you let go of your hate."

Luke sighed as he looked back at the ancient Jedi Master. This was not at all the welcome he had been expecting.

"Much has he done that deserves anger," Yoda conceded, "but let it rule you, you must not. The Dark Side lies that way, and into it you will fall, just as your father did. Intend to turn, he did not, but let his emotions control him, he did, and a murderer he became."

Luke nodded slowly; Obi-Wan had said as much to him many times, warning of the dangers of the Dark Side.

Yoda abruptly turned around. "Come," he said over his shoulder. "Rain, it soon will. Inside, we must go."

Luke used the Force to lower Artoo to the ground, and after retrieving his pack, he set off through the swamp after his new teacher.

As he walked along, shifting to avoid hanging vines, -one of which turned out to be a snake- Luke thought about what Yoda had said. Was he really acting just like his father had before his fall?

He knew, as Obi-Wan had explained, that Anakin's initial explorations of the Dark Side had been strictly in the interest of finding a way to save Luke's mother, but once he was caught, he was quickly overwhelmed. The power the Dark Side offered was too tempting, and so Anakin threw himself into it, committing horrific atrocities he would have never even considered the week before.

_Am I truly on the same path?_ Luke thought. Could he be tempted the same way? What if he knew something terrible was about to happen to someone he cared about, someone he loved? Would he be willing to do anything to prevent it from happening?

"Such thoughts plague many Jedi," Yoda said suddenly, startling Luke. He stopped and turned around to look up at the young man. "For this reason the old order forbade emotional attachments, so such a situation they would prevent."

Something came over the old Jedi Master then, a deep sort of sadness quite like the one Luke had sometimes observed in Obi-Wan. "A mistake it was, perhaps, to force Anakin into this belief." He turned away, resuming his shuffling pace through the swamp. "Already when he came to us, powerful feelings Anakin had," Yoda said as they walked. "Purge all emotion, he could not."

"We might as well have been asking him to change the color of his eyes by will alone," a very familiar voice said. "He was simply unable to do it."

Luke looked up, surprised, as Obi-Wan appeared in front of them, looking much the same as he had the last time Luke had seen him in the Royal Palace on Alderaan, but he was noticeably transparent, a subtle blue aura surrounding him as it had on Hoth.

Artoo whistled to himself behind them as he navigated his way around a thick tangle of roots, apparently taking no notice of the sudden appearance of Luke's old teacher.

"Ben!" Luke said excitedly, taking a step forward. He stifled a yelp as Yoda rapped him across the shins with his walking stick, meeting his eyes with a sharp expression. Then he remembered the direction the conversation had been taking and he fell silent, returning his attention to the two Jedi Masters.

"Yoda is right, Luke," Obi-Wan said, meeting the young man's eyes. "You are very much like your father. You feel emotion very strongly, but as difficult as it may be, you must learn to control your feelings if you do not want to repeat your father's errors."

Luke sighed. "I know." It was true; he'd always had difficulty controlling his feelings, though he thought he had been making progress. Not enough progress, apparently, from Yoda's viewpoint.

Yoda gestured off into the distance. "Come then. Much work there is to be done."

Hitching his pack up higher on his back, Luke followed, occasionally glancing up at Obi-Wan, who moved with them, though his insubstantial feet did not disturb the ground. He might as well have been a hologram, though Luke knew this was not the case. He saved his questions for a more appropriate time, though.

Could he do it, he wondered. Could he learn to control himself? He tried to fight off anger whenever he fought in battles, but it was quick to join him, and difficult to shake off afterwards. He despaired at being able to overcome this, but he knew he had to.

If he did not…

* * *

Darth Vader stood at the rear of the bridge of his flagship, surrounded by a semicircle of half-size holograms representing the commanders of the Star Destroyers in his fleet. He kept his expression passive, though he very much felt like scowling darkly at them; the _Millennium Falcon_ continued to elude pursuit, and none of them knew its exact position at the moment.

"_That was the last time they appeared on any of our scopes," _said Captain Needa aboard the _Avenger_. "_Considering the amount of damage we've sustained_, _they must have been destroyed._"

"No, Captain," Vader said with strained patience, "they're alive. I want every ship available to sweep the asteroid field until they are found." He well knew the capabilities of the _Millennium Falcon_ and its pilot, and there was no question as to whether Solo had survived his wild race into the dense field.

He gestured, and the holograms abruptly disappeared even before the commanders could finish bowing in acknowledgment.

The junior comm officer quietly approached, and from the way he blanched when Vader turned around, the Sith Master knew he was scowling more fiercely than he'd intended.

"What is it?" he forced himself to ask calmly.

"Signal from Darth Nova, my lord," the young man said. "He requests permission to speak to you."

"Granted," Vader said, already moving off the bridge. "Send it to my quarters."

A short turbolift ride and a quick walk later, Vader strode into his quarters and used the Force to activate the comm. A life-sized bluish-tinged hologram of his apprentice appeared, on one knee with his head bowed.

"Rise and report," Vader said, stopping in front of the hologram with his arms crossed over his chest. "Do you have Skywalker?"

Darth Nova paused, but only slightly. "_I do not, my Master_," he said, making it clear from his tone he wished to explain before Vader reacted further.

"Why?" Vader said darkly, imbuing that single word with both threat and anger.

"_I tracked him to a system my computer identified as Dagobah,_" Nova said, unflinchingly meeting his master's darkly glaring gaze. "_I am not familiar with the place, and I wondered what Skywalker was doing there. I attempted to follow him, but I was prevented._"

"Prevented? How?" Vader relaxed his glare, just a little.

Darth Nova's expression was grave. "_Through the Force, my Master._"

Vader's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"_When I attempted to follow Skywalker down toward the planet, all the systems in my ship abruptly shut down_," Nova said, his eyes following Vader as the Sith Master moved to stand in front of the wide viewport along one wall of his quarters. "_I then sensed an extremely powerful presence at work; it was difficult, for something interferes with my perceptions on the planet below, but there is definitely another Jedi besides Skywalker on the planet's surface._"

Nova scowled darkly. "_It took me several hours to find what the Jedi did to my ship to disable it, and I have just now restored power to my engines and thrusters. Shall I land and dispatch the Jedi?_"

Vader remained silent for a long moment. Who else could have survived the Purge? Who could Luke be with? It was certainly one of the more powerful masters of the old order, from Nova's description, but he'd thought them all destroyed.

One, however, was still unaccounted for. One that would have the power to do something like this.

One whom even he would not wish to engage in battle, for even his great power might not match up to the experience garnered from nearly a millennium of life. He could do it, Vader thought, but the battle would not be an easy one. Even Darth Nova, he who snuffed the life from a pair of stars, would have a hard fight, if he could even win at all. Luke would no doubt attempt to aid the Jedi Master, and likely end up injured or killed in the process.

"No," Vader said finally, turning to face his apprentice. "Remain in the system, and track Skywalker if he attempts to leave. Alert me if this happens."

Nova bowed his head. _"I obey, my Master_."

Vader nodded in acknowledgment, then cut the connection.

This complicated things. He could go to Dagobah himself, he knew, and forcibly remove Luke from the Jedi Master's influence, but such an action would only deepen his son's apparent hatred for him. He would resent it, even after it was explained to him what Vader's motives were, why he pursued the course he did.

Further, the pursuit of the _Millennium Falcon_ demanded his attention; someone was aboard that ship who could touch the Force, and of the possible candidates, the people he had observed in the hangar on Hoth, he was not sure which one it was. Thus, it was imperative he capture the smuggler's vessel intact.

Vader keyed his comm to hangar control. "This is Lord Vader," he told the officer on duty. "Inform the bounty hunters that they are to meet on the bridge."

"_Yes, my lord,_" the deck officer replied, saluting before moving off to carry out his Emperor's instructions.

Vader opened the door of his quarters and moved off for the nearest turbolift.

* * *

Han Solo handed a cable up to Chewbacca, who had wedged his hairy bulk into an overhead compartment, and the Wookiee growled his thanks. Next, Han heard a few thumps, scrapes, and an irritated grunt as the Wookiee reoriented himself in the compartment, going back to the system he was repairing.

Noticing Leia having some trouble with the valve she had been welding, Han moved past Threepio and into the smaller compartment, reaching past her to grab the stubborn valve.

She jerked away from him, shouldering him aside as she tried to do it herself.

"Hey, easy, Your Worship," Han said as he backed off a step. "I'm only trying to help."

"Would you please stop calling me that?" Leia said, grunting quietly in frustration as the valve still refused to give, making her skin her knuckle on the rough metal wall behind.

"Sure, Leia," Han said, leaning against the wall behind her.

"You make things so difficult sometimes," she said, looking down at her hand.

"I do. I really do," Han agreed, looking over at her. "You could be a little nicer though." He grinned. "Come on, admit it; sometimes you think I'm all right."

"Occasionally," Leia conceded, examining the scrape on her hand. "Sometimes, when you aren't acting like a scoundrel."

"Scoundrel?" Han laughed softly, finding her choice of words intriguing. "Scoundrel. I like the sound of that."

The sounds from outside faded, and Han looked in at Leia, seeing her standing there half-embarrassed, not quite meeting his eyes. It made her all the more beautiful, he thought, despite the smudges of dirt on her hands and face.

He reached for her hand and gently began to massage it. Leia was quiet for a moment, looking up at him, but finally she halfheartedly tried to pull free.

"Stop it," she protested.

"Stop what?" Han replied softly, continuing to hold her hand.

"Stop that!" she said again, though she stopped pulling. "My hands are dirty."

"My hands are dirty, too," Han said. "What are you afraid of?"

"Afraid?" Leia said, looking up into his eyes. There was something there, he knew, something of the same spark he was feeling.

"You're trembling," Han said softly. At that, he reached out and took her other hand, gently pulling her closer. "I think you like me _because_ I'm a scoundrel," he said, his face now close to hers. "I think there aren't enough scoundrels in your life."

"I happen to like nice men," Leia said in soft protest. But she did not resist.

"I'm a nice man," said Han, leaning closer.

"No you're not, you're-"

He gently interrupted her by covering her lips with his own, wrapping one arm around her back. She was momentarily stiff beneath him, but after only a moment Leia melted into his embrace, returning the kiss as she put one arm around the back of his neck and shoulders.

The moment seemed to stretch on into forever, a peaceful kind of emotion flowing between them as they stood there in each other's arms, but all too soon it was interrupted.

"Sir! Sir!" Threepio said excitedly behind Han, tapping him on the shoulder with a metal hand.

Han reluctantly broke away to see what he wanted. "What?" he snapped over his shoulder, thinking of a variety of unpleasant things to do to the droid.

"I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling!" Threepio said brightly, far too cheerful.

The moment was over. Leia quietly pulled away and retreated down the corridor, moving with the speed of embarrassment. Han silently watched her go for a moment before rounding on the droid.

"Great," he said, glaring at Threepio. "Thank you _very_ much."

"You're welcome, sir," the droid replied, oblivious.

From the overhead compartment, Chewbacca grinned upside-down, showing his teeth in a teasing smile.

"What are you looking at?" Han growled, feeling embarrassed himself. Before Chewbacca could say anything, he grabbed his tools and went off to get back to work.

* * *

Some time later, Mara Jade's attention was attracted by a startled shout from the _Millennium Falcon_'s cockpit, and she immediately went up to see what it was.

But she didn't have to go far; Leia rushed out of the passage past her, heading for the hold. "There's something out there!" she announced breathlessly.

Han looked over at her from where he was crouched, setting a floor panel in place. "What is it?" he said concernedly, one hand reflexively on his blaster.

Mara noticed something in the way he looked at Leia. It was quick, but there was something there, something the princess returned, though she tried not to. It reminded Mara an awful lot of the way Luke looked at her most of the time, and also of the way she-

She firmly clamped down on that line of thought, roughly yanking her attention back to the conversation.

"Something outside," Leia said. "In the cave." She waved an arm off behind her.

Almost before she finished speaking, there was a loud banging noise, followed by rustling and a screech.

"It sounds like it's trying to get in," Threepio observed nervously.

Mara listened closely, trying to identify the noise. It didn't sound very big, but she knew creatures didn't need to be big to be deadly.

Han scowled at the noise, one hand on his blaster as he moved off at a brisk pace for the boarding ramp. "I'm going to see what it is," he announced.

"What?" Leia said, surprised. "Are you crazy? We don't know what it is!"

Mara followed as the two of them headed for the ramp, unsnapping the holster of the blaster at her side.

"I just got this bucket back together," Han said, snatching a breath mask off of a rack next to the ramp. "I ain't gonna let something tear it apart."

"Then I'm going with you," Leia said determinedly.

Han looked back at her for a moment, then nodded in acceptance and tossed her a breath mask. Mara held up a hand, and he lobbed her another a moment later.

"Come on, Chewie!" Han called off into the hold. The Wookiee bellowed back an answer, growling that he had seen something moving outside the ship, as well.

"I think I will stay here," Threepio said, cringing as whatever it was thumped against the hull again. Mara smirked; he hardly needed to announce that. Frankly, it would have been unusual if he _had_ volunteered to come along.

As the ramp lowered, Han drew his blaster, looking around. Leia followed, her dark eyes roving over the misty cave beyond, and as she descended the ramp a few paces behind her, Mara checked the backup blaster hidden up her left sleeve, on the lookout. Anything that lived in a tunnel deep inside an asteroid was not something that deserved to hitch a ride back out.

Outside, with the bubble of the _Falcon_'s shields keeping enough atmosphere around the ship that they did not require spacesuits, Han stalked off, muttering to himself under his breath as he looked around.

Leia made a puzzled noise, and Mara looked over at her, brows lifting questioningly.

"This ground sure feels strange," the princess said, looking up at Mara. "It doesn't feel like rock."

She was right; the texture of the ground was like no rock Mara had ever seen, and there was far too much moisture in here for what should have been a vacuum.

With a flutter of wings, something interrupted Mara's reply as it launched itself past Leia's head, and she shouted in surprise. Mara quickly drew her sleeve blaster and fired two shots as the thing glided past. She hit it dead center between the wings with one, but the other _spang_-ed off the hull.

Han came running over, his own blaster at the ready, and Mara explained what it was as he approached. "Mynock," she called to him.

"Yep," Han said, kicking the dead creature aside with the toe of his boot. "That's what I thought." He looked over at Leia. "Go on back inside. We'll see if there are any more out here, chewing on the power cables."

Behind them, Chewbacca barked and fired three shots from his bowcaster. Two more mynocks dropped from the hull, but his third shot hit the rocky wall of the cave.

Seemingly in response, the whole cave suddenly lurched, nearly knocking Mara to the ground. She grabbed hold of the _Falcon_'s landing gear nearby, reaching out one arm to steady Leia next to her. Han grabbed the princess' other arm, the hand holding his blaster pressed against the underside of his ship.

Once the sudden quake subsided, Mara noticed Han frowning thoughtfully behind his breath mask. Slowly, he lowered his blaster to point at the cave floor, and before Mara could ask him what he was thinking, he fired a shot into the ground.

Definitely in response this time, the entire cavern shook even more violently than before. Unlike before, it did not stop, the whole floor seeming to bounce up and down, taking them with it.

Mara stumbled for the ramp, putting away her blaster as Chewbacca charged past her, howling too fast for her to understand as the giant Wookiee barreled inside. Han pushed past her a moment later, moving as quickly as he could over the shaking of the ground.

Han slapped the ramp control as Mara helped Leia aboard, yanking off his breath mask as he sprinted for the cockpit. "Fire her up, Chewie!" he shouted ahead. "We're getting out of here!"

"What are you doing?" Leia demanded, trying to follow.

"No time to discuss this in committee," Han tossed over his shoulder, lurching for the cockpit over the rolling motion of the cave.

"I am _not_ a committee!" Leia replied indignantly, even as another jolt threw her into the corridor wall.

Mara stumbled again, but was able to keep her balance, and pulled Leia along as they followed Han into the cockpit.

Inside, Chewbacca was already starting the ship's engines, but even as the _Falcon_'s sublight drive rumbled to life, the tremors trailed off.

"The Empire is still out there!" Leia said, gesturing between the Corellian and his copilot as the two of them madly flipped switches and adjusted levers.

"Sit down, sweetheart, we're taking off!" Han snapped, gunning the engines.

Mara allowed herself to fall backward into the seat behind Chewbacca, then quickly buckled her crash webbing. Beside her, Leia did the same in the navigator's chair.

"_What's going on?_" Winter's voice asked over the intership comm. Despite the situation, Mara noted, Leia's aide was as calm as ever, a certainly enviable trait. Mara felt anything but calm herself. Something very strange was going on here.

"We're leaving, that's what!" Han said grimly, tightening his hands around the controls.

Chewbacca howled a warning, gesturing with a long, furry arm outside. At the end of the tunnel, a long row of stalactites had appeared, joined on the other side by a row of equally long and jagged while stalagmites. Slowly, the stalactites were lowering.

"I see 'em," Han said tersely, accelerating.

"The cave is collapsing!" Leia exclaimed.

"This is no cave," said Han, his knuckles white as he pushed his ship for all it was worth.

"What?-" Leia began, but she stopped as they passed the huge rock formations, smooth and oddly shaped.

They weren't rock formations at all, Mara suddenly realized; they were teeth!

Han's shoulders tensed as he leaned forward, silently willing more speed from his ship as the giant mouth continued to close. Mara gripped the arms of her chair, willing more speed from the freighter herself. She could plainly feel Leia's horror through the Force, and even despite the situation, she hoped Leia did not feel or could not interpret her own.

Han leaned sideways as he banked, tipping the _Falcon_ on its side as he soared through the rows of enormous teeth, passing within meters of being crushed between them.

Once outside the mouth, Han gunned the engines again, eliciting a whine of protest deep within the bowels of the ship. Mara looked out of the viewport as they screamed out into open space, and behind them, the giant mouth was following. But the _Falcon_ was simply too fast, and the gigantic space slug could not catch them.

Mara grabbed the arms of her chair to hold on as something jolted them. She looked up to see a small asteroid flipping end over end away from them, having been deflected by the newly repaired shields.

"Out of the belly of one beast…" Mara said, pointing past Han and Chewbacca to the gigantic white hulk of an Imperial Star Destroyer not far away through the blizzard of drifting rock, "and right into another's."

Han sighed deeply, and Mara felt a pang of sympathy for him. His day was _really_ not going well.

Depending on whether or not she acted on the plan forming in the back of her mind, it just might get a lot worse.

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: Man, ESB was just filled with all kinds of great lines, wasn't it? The next chapter will be up soon. Much thanks to all readers and reviewers. Till next time!


	5. No Disintegrations

**Five**  
(No Disintegrations)

Admiral Piett made no attempt to hide his disdain at the motley assortment of creatures gathered on the bridge of the _Executor_. The pursuit was going fairly well so far, especially with Grand Admiral Thrawn's organization, and he saw no need to bring bounty hunters into it.

Humans, aliens, cyborgs, droids, and one thing he wasn't quite sure of stood along the command walkway, listening to Lord Vader's briefing. The Sith Master was currently describing the _Millennium Falcon_'s capabilities and what he knew of its pilot. From the sneers he saw on a few faces, Piett could tell that some of the hunters had encountered Solo before.

"Priority signal from the _Avenger_," the senior comm officer said to Piett as Lord Vader finished his instructions. Piett was able to listen at the same time as he listened to everything else happening on his bridge, a very useful trait for a warship commander.

"There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the _Millennium Falcon_," Lord Vader was saying as he paced in front of the group of bounty hunters. "You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive." Vader pointedly stopped in front of Boba Fett as he finished and raised a warning finger. "_No_ disintegrations," he said emphatically.

"As you wish," Fett said, his expression unreadable behind the T-slit of his Mandalorian helmet. Piett thought he sounded almost disappointed.

And well he should be; Piett's military discipline was all that kept him from grinning as he rushed to Lord Vader's side to deliver the message from the _Avenger_.

"My lord," he said excitedly, "we have them!"

* * *

"We're nearing the edge of the field, Captain," C-3PO said from his seat at the navigator's station.

"Good," said Han, gritting his teeth as the Star Destroyer breathing down his neck pelted his ship with laser fire again. "As soon as we're out, we're going right into lightspeed."

Above, in the dorsal turret, Mara Jade spat fire back at the TIE fighters howling after them, as Winter did the same from the ventral, both women rapidly picking off their pursuers with deadly-accurate fire.

Chewbacca growled with relief as they finally left the asteroid field behind…

Just in time to get hammered from above by _another_ Star Destroyer that had been waiting at the edge of the field.

Han shouted a blistering Corellian oath at the other Imperial ship, wildly twisting his ship to avoid the new pattern of fire. "Where did he come from?" he snarled, having no choice but to go 'down' relative to the Imperial ships. He certainly wasn't going back into the asteroid field now!

"The jump ready?" he said to Chewie, who growled in the affirmative. "Finally!" Han exclaimed in relief. "Let's get out of here!"

Triumphantly, Han threw the hyperspace lever…

And nothing happened. Again.

Han tried a second time. Still nothing.

"This just isn't fair!" Han despaired.

Chewbacca rarely lost his temper with his friend, but now he bellowed angrily at Han from his seat, demanding to know what was going on.

"It's not my fault!" Han objected.

"Still no lightspeed?" said Leia, as if she had been expecting this.

"It's not my fault!" Han said again, desperate. Laser fire flashed past as the two Star Destroyers tracked the momentarily stationary _Falcon_, and Han had to start maneuvering again, his thoughts whirling.

What could they do now?

The _Falcon_ bucked as one of the Imperial ships landed a direct hit, and sparks flew out of a panel above Han. "There go the rear deflector shields," he observed, gritting his teeth at another nausea-inducing series of maneuvers.

"One more hit on the back quarter and we're done for!" Threepio wailed.

An idea sparked in Han's mind. "Chewie, throw all power to the front shield," he said as he sharply turned the _Falcon_ around.

Leia's eyes widened in horror as she realized what he was doing. "You're going to _attack_ them?" she said incredulously.

Han had no time for explanations; every fiber of his being was devoted to dodging the firestorm _Avenger_ was throwing his way. He kept one eye on the other Star Destroyer above them, hoping the angle was right for this to work.

"Sir!" Threepio protested, "the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer are-"

Both Leia and Chewbacca shouted for the droid to shut up as Han swooped ever closer to the _Avenger_, heading right for the command tower.

No one on Han's tiny ship had any idea of what he was doing but him. Most of them fervently hoped that their captain hadn't finally snapped and gone crazy under the pressure, because that was certainly what it looked like.

* * *

On _Avenger_'s bridge, Captain Needa watched in fascinated horror as the _Millennium Falcon_ came right at him.

"He's coming in too low!" one of the other officers shouted, a note of terror in his voice.

"Full deflectors!" Needa ordered. A ship like that wouldn't do much damage if it impacted the hull, but if it hit the bridge viewports, Solo's suicidal charge would take his pursuers with him.

"He's going to hit!" the first officer yelled, pointing at the incoming freighter.

Captain Needa and the other officers reflexively dropped to the deck, not that it would do much good, but…

Instead of the fiery explosion he had been expecting, Needa heard… nothing.

He looked up just in time to see the _Millennium Falcon_ veer up sharply at the last second, soaring right over the bridge instead of through it.

"Track them!" he ordered as he got to his feet. "They may come around for another pass."

"Captain Needa, the ship no longer appears on any of our scopes!" the sensor officer reported.

"Impossible!" Needa growled, moving over to look at the monitors for himself. "No ship that small could have a cloaking device."

"Perhaps he went to lightspeed at the last second," the first officer offered.

"Why did he attack, then?" Needa snapped. "He could have went into hyperspace when they cleared the field."

"Well, there's no trace of them, sir," the sensor officer said.

"Lord Vader demands an update on the pursuit," the comm officer said suddenly, looking over at them.

Needa sighed; losing the _Millennium Falcon_ when they were this close was an unforgivable error in Lord Vader's view. He could expect termination at the least, and likely a very unpleasant injury besides. Lord Vader despised incompetence above all else, and might even execute him for this, depending on how angry he was. Needa had heard the stories of what had happened to Ozzel, the fleet's previous admiral.

"Ready my shuttle," he said to one of his aides. "I shall assume full responsibility for this, and apologize to Lord Vader." Grimly, he looked over his bridge for what was likely the last time. "Meanwhile, continue to scan the field."

It was a very long walk down to the shuttle bay.

* * *

Admiral Piett kept himself from wincing as Captain Needa entered the bridge of the _Executor_. He'd been present when Ozzel had bumbled the attack at Yavin, and he fully expected the _Avenger_'s captain to receive similar treatment now.

Lord Vader was waiting for him, standing in the center of the command walkway like a great black bird of prey, his disconcerting eyes fixed penetratingly on Needa as the other man approached.

Piett watched in morbid fascination as Needa stopped a short distance in front of the Emperor and bowed respectfully, swallowing nervously.

Grand Admiral Thrawn ascended the stairs of the starboard crew pit, where he had been reviewing the _Avenger_'s sensor logs of the incident, and he quietly stopped next to Lord Vader, his white uniform standing out in stark contrast to the Sith Master's black clothing.

Lord Vader's eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be about to speak, when Thrawn spoke instead.

"Describe in detail what you saw, Captain," Thrawn said, his glowing red eyes fixed on the _Avenger_'s commander.

Piett saw Lord Vader's gaze flick to Thrawn momentarily, and the other responded with an infinitesimal nod. Lord Vader crossed his arms over his chest, but otherwise remained silent, settling instead for deepening his scowl.

"The _Millennium Falcon_ charged directly at the _Avenger_'s bridge, sir," Needa said, visibly attempting to control his nervousness. "He seemed about to ram us, but at the last moment, he veered sharply up and…" He swallowed again, clearly not wanting to say the next part. "Disappeared."

Thrawn's expression gave no hint as to what he was thinking, whether he was angry or not, but Lord Vader plainly was, the muscles in his jaw working as he glared down at the captain who had failed him.

"My first officer thinks he may have gone to lightspeed as soon as he cleared the tower," Needa added. "I agree with his assessment."

"He disappeared from the _Relentless_' sensors at the same time," Thrawn said, to both Vader and Needa. "They were unable to track a hyperspace vector."

"Recommendations?" Vader said to Thrawn, still glaring at Needa. His natural eye, Piett noted, was turning a very strange color, a mottled combination of blue and yellow. This was _not_ a good sign.

"As I said earlier, my lord," Thrawn said calmly, "we send a ship to each of the systems on the list I gave you. Solo is likely to seek a safe harbor in which to repair his ship, and there are only a few ports nearby that are not patrolled by our forces. Whatever repairs he made to his hyperdrive are temporary at best, so the port he seeks will need sophisticated facilities."

Thrawn took a half step forward, so that he was partly between Vader and Needa. "If I may, my lord," he said, "I would recommend against punishing the captain. From my analysis, there was really nothing he could have done to prevent Solo's escape." He met Lord Vader's gaze meaningfully. "And," he added, "Solo will not evade us for long in any case."

There was some sort of hidden subtext in his words, but Piett could not decipher it himself. The Emperor apparently understood him, though, from the slight flash of recognition in his eyes.

Lord Vader remained silent for a further long, tense moment, but finally, Piett noted with relief, -and Needa even more so- he relaxed, and his eye remained its natural blue.

"Very well, Admiral," he said to Thrawn, still looking at Needa. "Carry on."

He swept past Needa, the edge of his cloak slapping the captain's leg as he left the bridge. Needa flinched, stiffening until Vader's heavy footsteps faded away.

Thrawn took another step towards the _Avenger_'s captain, his expression grave. "I was able to spare you this time, Captain," he warned. "Next time, Lord Vader may not be so easily persuaded. I suggest you do everything in your power to make sure there is not a next time."

Needa saluted, not even trying to hide his gratitude and relief. "Yes, sir," he said. "Thank you, sir."

Thrawn nodded fractionally. "Return to your ship, Captain."

Needa bowed and hastily left the _Executor_'s bridge.

Thrawn noticed Piett looking at him and quietly approached. "Only genuine incompetence should be punished, Admiral," he said, looking out of the wide viewport. "Punishing a man for something he cannot control serves no useful purpose other than to create fear among your men. A good commander cultivates respect rather than fear." Thrawn leaned slightly closer to Piett to emphasize his final point. "Fear and respect are not the same thing, Admiral. Remember that."

"Yes, sir," Piett replied, nodding in agreement.

He watched Thrawn for a moment as the Grand Admiral returned to the starboard crew pit, feeling very proud to have a commander such as him. Had Thrawn not been present, Piett knew, Lord Vader very well might have killed Captain Needa. The Emperor was becoming increasingly volatile lately, and more and more unpredictable. Sometimes he would fly into a terrible rage over a failure, and sometimes he would simply let it go. It was impossible to predict which reaction he would have anymore, so everyone did the best they could to avoid failing their Emperor, as if they needed any further incentive.

The entire crew of the _Executor_ had been figuratively walking on eggshells for quite some time now, ever since Lord Vader's obsession with the Skywalker boy began. Again, Piett wondered just what was so important to the Emperor about Luke Skywalker, but as with all of the other times, he knew better than to ask.

The tension broken, Piett set about readying the _Executor_ to leave the Hoth system.

* * *

"Well, Solo," said Mara Jade, looking out of the _Millennium Falcon_'s cockpit, "if nothing else, you certainly have guts."

Han grinned, entirely too pleased with himself as he leaned back in his chair.

Mara shook her head in amusement, watching the fleet beyond continue their search. None of them, however, had any idea just how close they were to their prey.

The _Millennium Falcon_ was currently perched like an oversized mynock on the back of _Avenger_'s command tower, all systems shut down. They appeared to be nothing more than a lump on the tower, invisible except by close visual examination. Thus far, the Imperials proved unwilling to stoop to such tactics to find their quarry.

"This is entirely too risky," Threepio objected. "Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in these circumstances and-"

He suddenly went silent as Princess Leia reached over and flipped the shutoff switch on the back of his neck.

"_Thank_ you," Mara and Han said in unison. Mara smiled slightly at the coincidence.

"Chewie, go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw," Han said, looking up out of the viewport at the other Star Destroyers in the fleet.

The massive cobalt bulk of the _Executor_ hovered off in the distance like a crouching predator, seeming closer than it really was through its sheer size. Mara glanced at Leia, silently repeating to herself that the princess would sense it if she tried to contact her master through the Force.

So close, and yet so far away, as the saying went.

Yes, that was why she avoided giving them away. No other reason at all.

Mara was glad the others were too occupied with watching the fleet to see her frown.

Leia sat down in the chair Chewbacca had vacated. "So, what's your plan?"

"The fleet's beginning to break up," Han replied, gesturing up at the Star Destroyers overhead. "If they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll empty their garbage before they go to lightspeed, and so we just… float away." He gestured as he spoke, making a sweeping motion with his hands.

"With the rest of the garbage," Leia finished, a hint of a smile quirking one corner of her mouth. Han fixed her with an amused look, one that was somehow fond at the same time. "Then what?" Leia asked.

"Then we have to find a safe port around here," he replied, leaning forward to look at one of his monitors. He looked back at Mara. "Got any ideas?"

"Where are we?" she asked, leaning forward herself so that she could see.

"Near the Anoat system," Han replied, looking back at his monitor.

"Mmm, not much there," said Leia. "What else?"

Han was silent for a moment as he cycled through the computer readout, a thoughtful expression on his face. Finally, Mara saw a spark of recognition in his eyes, and he leaned back slightly.

"Here we go," he said. "Lando."

"Lando system?" Leia said, a bit confused.

"Lando's not a system, he's a man," Han clarified. "Lando Calrissian. Card player, con artist, scoundrel." He looked over at Leia with a grin. "You'd like him."

Mara noted Leia's wry smile, and knew there was something there she wasn't picking up on. She dismissed it, returning her attention to the conversation.

"He owns a Tibanna gas mine he won in a card game or something," Han continued. "Lando and I go way back; he'll help us."

"Do you trust him?" Mara asked. She could tell from Leia's expression that she had been about to ask the same thing.

"No, but he's got no great love for the Empire, I can tell you that," Han replied. He stared at the monitor for a moment, thinking. "Bespin," he said finally. "It's pretty far, but I think we can make it. It'll take us a while, though."

Before either Leia or Mara could respond, Han suddenly straightened, toggling the intership comm. "Chewie, get ready."

Mara saw it, too; one of the other Star Destroyers had gone to lightspeed.

She watched carefully, noting the hatch yawning open below them, and Han saw it, also. "Okay, Chewie," he said. "Release."

Gently, the _Falcon_ disengaged from the _Avenger_'s hull and drifted down to join the stream of garbage flowing out of the hatch, completely unobtrusive.

Mara had to admit this was one of the Corellian's better plans. Not even Thrawn could have seen this coming. Well, maybe, Mara amended; you never knew with him.

"You have your moments," Leia said to Han as she stood up. "Not many of them, but you do have them." Leaning over, she gently kissed his cheek before she left the cockpit.

Han grinned as he watched her leave, then shifted his gaze to Mara, his grin becoming teasing. "You want the other one?" he said lightly, gesturing to his other cheek.

Mara smiled. "Sorry, Solo," she said as she got up, teasing him right back. "You're not my type."

He chuckled as she left.

* * *

Neither of them noted the small craft that had also hidden in the _Avenger_'s garbage, which activated its engines not long after the _Falcon_ did, orienting itself on the smuggling vessel's tail like a tracking hound.

In the cockpit of _Slave I_, Boba Fett silently tracked their vector, preparing to send it to Lord Vader.

* * *

"Nothing more will I teach you today."

Luke Skywalker gratefully slumped onto a log in the Dagobah swamp, breathing heavily. Yoda had been drilling him mercilessly for the last few days, and he was more exhausted than he'd thought possible. But, at the same time, he was more in tune with the Force than ever before.

For instance, he knew, something definitely unpleasant was uncomfortably nearby. Yoda had made no comment on the run here, perched on Luke's back as he occasionally dispensed instruction, but he could sense something from the diminutive Jedi Master, something that told him Yoda had brought him here with a purpose.

"The Dark Side you feel," Yoda said from his perch on another fallen tree-trunk. "That place is strong with the Dark Side of the Force."

He gestured to an evil-looking tree whose roots wrapped around the entrance to a cave. It was a great black twisted thing, unnatural and disturbing, in sharp contrast to the swamp around it.

Yoda leaned slightly forward, looking up at Luke with an unreadable expression. "In you must go."

Luke looked back at him incredulously; he could feel the evil radiating out of that cave, and Yoda wanted him to go inside?

"What's in there?" he asked, putting his jacket on after pulling it out of his pack.

"Only what you take with you," Yoda replied cryptically.

Luke frowned, puzzled. He reached into his pack and pulled out his weapons belt.

Yoda shook his head slightly. "Your weapons," he said, gesturing at Luke with his walking stick. "You will not need them."

Luke gave his teacher a disbelieving look; he knew _something_ was in there, and he was _not_ going in unarmed. He buckled on his belt anyway.

He made his way through the wet, misty swamp to the cave, where he eased his way inside, avoiding hanging vines and sharp tree roots. A small crawling lizard hissed at him as he entered, and Luke moved a half-step away as he looked around the small, damp cave from the entrance.

At first, he saw nothing but more hanging vines and moss, a general slimy feeling pervading the cold, cramped space.

Luke felt a strange twinge in the Force, even as it seemed the world around him took on oddly muted colors and somehow slowed down, as if he was underwater.

An ominous _snap-hiss_ sounded from in front of him, and Luke turned to see a meter-long beam of scarlet energy erupt out of a black hilt gripped in a gloved fist. The lightsaber illuminated its bearer, bathing him in blood-red light.

Darth Vader took a slow step forward, his lightsaber raising into a guard position as he narrowed his eyes in threat at his son. The glowing blue photoreceptor that had replaced his right eye cast a dim, eerie light over the rest of his face in the shadows, an odd counterpart to his shining crimson blade.

Luke ignited his own lightsaber, thoughts whirling as he tried to understand what was going on. But almost faster than he could react, Vader surged forward, swinging his lightsaber down in a powerful two-handed blow.

The young warrior leaped aside, bringing his own weapon up to counter. His father slashed again, mouth moving with words Luke could not hear, and spun to bring his weapon across in a wide slice.

But when the dark figure finished its turn, it was no longer Vader; it was instead _himself_ Luke saw, hair cut short and features sharp and pale. The grim duplicate was dressed the same as Vader had been, in a black Imperial uniform and long cloak, and his eyes were a disturbing shade of yellow.

The dark Luke swung wildly at him, and the young warrior backed away, trying to keep his lightsaber in his hands. His doppelganger sneered and threw out its hand. From its splayed fingers, multiple crackling bolts of purple-blue electricity lanced out and slammed Luke back against the wall.

His lightsaber rolled from his fingers, and Luke scrambled to retrieve it, but the dark Luke placed one polished black boot on its hilt, lowering his own scarlet weapon to place the point just below Luke's chin.

"One little push," the dark Luke said, his strangely dry voice echoing strangely in the tiny cave.

For a moment, Vader reappeared, standing next to the dark version of Luke. "Finish him," he said, approval crossing his features as he looked at the doppelganger.

Anger surged up through Luke, and before he knew what he was doing, he pulled his lightsaber to his hand and leaped up, igniting it. He whipped the shining blue blade through both forms, but they vanished, fading away as if they had never been.

"_One little push_," a ghostly voice murmured into the now-empty chamber, sounding like both his father's voice and his own.

It was a long while before Luke Skywalker was able to move from that deep, dark cave.

* * *

Lando Calrissian, Baron-Administrator of Cloud City on Bespin, was having an excellent day.

He had just managed to talk the leaders of the Ugnaught labor guilds into increasing their production without raising their rates, and that, combined with the news that the modifications his chief engineer had made to the Tibanna refineries would speed up production by nearly thirty percent, had put him in a very good mood.

He grinned broadly as he passed a group of workers in one of Cloud City's wide, airy halls, broad windows showcasing the view of the endless sky outside, and a few of them smiled back, waving a friendly greeting.

Lando made his way through the complex up to his office, where he intended to catch up on some datawork, but once he arrived, he began to suspect this day might not turn out to be as good as he had hoped; his secretary was sitting as usual at her desk, but something about her posture made Lando nervous. Something was wrong here.

He caught the warning flash in her eyes as she looked up at him, and he was just about to take a step back from his office door when it opened of its own accord.

Lando froze. Sitting behind his desk was none other than Emperor Skywalker himself, calmly looking back at him with the eerie mismatched gaze that had made him all the more unnerving since he had lost his eye at Yavin. Standing beside him was Grand Admiral Thrawn, his glowing red eyes also fixed on Lando.

"Please, come in, Baron-Administrator," Lord Vader said, his tone deceptively polite.

Lando quickly recovered himself, forcing his expression to become calm as he glanced past the Emperor and the Grand Admiral to the squad of stormtroopers lining the walls of Lando's office. The trooper nearest the entrance waved Lando further inside with the muzzle of his blaster rifle, then closed the door behind him.

The gambler's thoughts whirled, trying to figure out what was going on. What possible reason could the Emperor himself have for coming here?

"Welcome to Cloud City, Your Highness," Lando said, fighting not to let his nervousness show on his face. "To what do I owe the-"

"Spare me the pleasantries, Calrissian," Vader said, standing. "There is something you need to do for me."

"Of course, Your Highness," Lando said, still trying to determine why the Empire had come to Bespin. Had they come to take over the refineries? The facility was too small to be worth the Empire's time, Lando had thought, but apparently he was wrong.

"I have become aware of the fact that you are running Tibanna gas out of this facility to be sold through non-official channels," Vader said, taking a step around the edge of Lando's desk. "You are aware of the laws you are violating, are you not?"

Lando's mouth felt dry. This was it, then. "This facility operates well within Imperial trade laws," he began, but Vader held up a gloved hand.

"Do not presume to think you can deceive me, Calrissian," he said. "I can have you arrested and this facility placed under Imperial control on my word alone." He moved around the desk so that he was standing in front of Lando. "However, there is the possibility that we can come to some sort of arrangement."

"What kind of arrangement?" Lando asked, trying not to let Vader's unnerving gaze put him off-balance.

"An acquaintance of yours, Han Solo, is bringing his ship here for repairs," said Thrawn, his voice just as deceptively calm and polite as the Emperor's. "We are prepared to ignore your transgressions in exchange for your aid in apprehending him."

Lando put on a politely confused expression. "Solo, did you say?" he said, making sure his inner surprise did not show on his face. Han was in trouble with the Empire? That was hardly a surprise, but if both Vader and Thrawn were after him, the smuggler had gotten in way over his head this time.

He was about to say that he wasn't sure Han would come here when Vader sighed impatiently and abruptly gestured at Lando's office window.

Startling him, the window shattered, the fragments flying outside as a sharp wind filled the office, ruffling the clothes of those inside. Before Lando could scramble backwards, Vader took a long step toward him and seized the collar of his shirt in one gloved hand, lifting him free of the floor effortlessly.

Turning smoothly, Vader hurled Lando over the desk and out of the shattered window. The gambler screamed as he fell, the wind roaring in his ears.

After ten long seconds that felt more like hours, he mysteriously stopped falling and instead began ascending.

Lando felt a rush of panic and confusion, madly wondering what was going on, and he struggled against the invisible force holding him. Slowly, he turned to face the wall of the administration complex, his feet dangling below him as he kicked uselessly for some kind of foothold.

Vader stood in the remains of his office window, glass fragments crunching beneath his heavy black boots as he looked with sardonic calm back at the gambler. "Do we have a deal, Baron-Administrator?" he asked.

Lando struggled for breath, hands grasping uselessly at the intangible pressure at his throat. He finally managed to draw in a breath, but had to let it out in another terrified scream as the force holding him up suddenly vanished.

He fell past the white towers of the upper part of the city, his cape tangling about his head and shoulders as he tumbled head-over-heels toward the outer hull of the floating city below.

Just before he hit, though, the invisible grip snatched him up and sent him hurtling upwards toward his office again.

With a suddenness that made his head spin, Lando stopped in front of the broken window, hovering just out of reach of the frame.

Vader rose a mocking eyebrow, smirking cruelly. "Well, Calrissian?"

"Yes!" Lando gasped out. "I'll do it, I'll do it!"

The invisible grip pulled him inside and dumped him unceremoniously into his chair.

"Excellent," said Vader, towering over him with arms crossed over his chest. "I'm pleased we could reach an agreement so quickly. You will receive further instructions this evening."

Sprawled in his chair, his hair and clothes disheveled and his nerves so rattled he thought he would never catch his wits again, Lando watched as Vader, Thrawn, and the stormtroopers left the office, the Emperor marching down the hallway beyond as if he owned it.

Lando leaned back in his chair, trying to catch his breath again. His secretary poked her head inside the door, looking over at him with relief. "I've canceled the rest of your appointments for today, Baron-Administrator," she said. "Shall I call for some workmen to replace the window?"

"Yes, thank you," Lando said gratefully. He was definitely going to give her a raise.

Sighing resignedly, Lando set about making plans to help snare Han in Lord Vader's trap.

* * *

Luke sat against the curved wall of Master Yoda's house, absently eating some sort of stew out of a bowl Yoda had given him upon his return to the small dwelling. Luke wasn't sure what was in the stew, -truthfully, he wasn't sure he wanted to know, either- but at least it was hot.

Yoda had been mostly quiet since Luke's return, occasionally glancing over at him as he moved around in his house, going about business known only to him. Luke wasn't in the mood to talk, so this suited him just fine.

As Luke finished his stew and set the bowl aside, Yoda approached, his ancient eyes knowing. He leaned on his walking stick in front of Luke, silent for a few moments before he began speaking.

"A warning, it was," Yoda said. Luke didn't have to ask what he was talking about. "Saw yourself, did you? Like your father, you were?"

Luke nodded silently.

Yoda frowned slightly. "This I have seen. In meditation, at times have I seen you at your father's side, helping to further his purpose."

"I would _never_-" Luke began hotly, but Yoda silenced him with a sharp look.

"Other times have I seen you fight your father," the ancient Jedi continued. "At times, win you do, at other times, win Vader does." Yoda leaned forward slightly. "Always in motion is the future. Change, it does based on your actions and those of your father."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, shifting to a more comfortable position.

"Powerful, you are," Yoda said, placing both hands on his walking stick. "As powerful as your father. Around the two of you moves the Force, influenced and influencing." Yoda looked out of the nearby window, watching the rain outside for a moment.

"Before you, two paths are," Yoda said as he looked back at Luke. "Join your father you can, rule the galaxy at his side, and fall into the Dark Side."

Luke began to voice an objection, but Yoda continued, interrupting him. "Or confront him you can, end his rule." Yoda leaned forward, poking Luke in the chest with the tip of his walking stick. "Powerful enough to do this, only you are. Obi-Wan could not. I cannot. Only you."

Yoda shuffled a step away. "But you are not ready." He turned to Luke again. "You are reckless! Adventure you crave, excitement you seek." He gestured at Luke with his stick. "A Jedi needs not these things. A Jedi is calm, at peace. Only when you are able to control your emotions will you be ready to confront your father."

The ancient Jedi Master's expression became gravely serious. "If you rush to face him with hate and anger still in your heart, to the Dark Side will you fall, and join him or take his place."

Luke sighed as he remembered what he'd seen in the cave. Yoda was right, he knew. One little push…

"All right," he said, meeting Yoda's eyes. "Please, teach me."

Master Yoda nodded in satisfaction. "Good," he said. "Begin, we will."

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: I meant to post this yesterday, but the site was having issues and the document manager was down. Anyway, after months of rewrites and endless edits, I finally have the rest of this story exactly the way I want it. Updates will be much faster; I'm shooting for posting a chapter every other day from now on. Sorry for the long delay, but quite frankly, I'd rather make you wait than have you read a bad story, know what I mean? Thanks for reading!


	6. What Have You Done To My Ship?

**Six**  
("What Have You Done To My Ship?")

Using supplies from the _Millennium Falcon_'s small but well-stocked infirmary, Mara Jade helped Princess Leia clean a scrape on her hand she had acquired during the course of their repairs. She was not doing it out of comradely helpfulness, as it appeared; this was the easiest way to obtain a sample of Organa's blood without arousing suspicion.

The two women sat in the _Falcon_'s hold, behind the dejarik table. They had been limping along for several days now on a patched-together hyperdrive Han and Chewbacca had wrangled into a semblance of function, much longer than it would have taken were the hyperdrive in peak condition.

But, they had finally arrived at Bespin, and so Mara needed a blood sample. Using Cloud City's computers, she intended to check Organa's blood and then send the results to Lord Vader. If she arranged things right, everything would go smoothly, and none of the others would be hurt.

Lord Vader was a reasonable man; he wouldn't take any extremes that weren't necessary, she knew.

A part of Mara's mind mocked her for thinking this, recalling some of the increasingly erratic behavior reported in the news, as well as some other incidents she had observed personally. Lord Vader's temper was quick to rise and slow to fade away, and if he was sufficiently angry with Solo and the others, there was no telling what he might do.

As she finished applying the bandage, Mara folded the cloth she'd used to clean the wound and made as if to toss it into the garbage receptacle. As Leia glanced away momentarily, Mara palmed the cloth and quickly tucked it into the cuff of her shirt, hiding the motion behind her leg.

"Thank you," said Leia, and Mara made herself smile in response.

"Sure," she replied, clearing away the rest of the medkit.

"_We've got landing clearance finally,_" Han said over the intership comm. "_Strap yourselves in back there._"

Chewbacca made a concerned statement, and Han responded, apparently unaware the comm was still on. "_Hey, I'm sure he's forgotten all about that. The patrol officer was just touchy, that's all. You know how those guys are._"

The Wookiee responded with a less-than-confident statement, informing Han that he thought this was going to be trouble. Han chuckled mirthlessly. "_Hey, when is it not?_"

Mara wanted to be alone with her thoughts, so she stayed in the hold while Leia went up to the cockpit.

She was treading dangerous ground here, she knew. On one side was her loyalty to her master, the man who had been a father to her all of her life, teaching her to fight, to spy, to take care of herself. On the other side were the people on board this ship, Rebels, people who were supposed to be her enemies but considered themselves her friends. She felt much the same way, she thought, though a part of her mind reprimanded her for these feelings.

She was Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand. What was she doing feeling sorry for a bunch of Rebels who were about to get what they deserved?

"Something wrong?"

Mara looked up to see Winter standing next to the acceleration couch behind the game table, one hand resting on the back.

"Oh, just… thinking about Luke," Mara improvised. "I was wondering if he made it away from Hoth all right."

Winter nodded, her expression faintly sad as she sat down behind the table next to Mara. "A lot of people didn't," she said quietly. "The Empire has taken so much from us over the years. They've driven us from our home on Alderaan, forced us to run to every corner of the galaxy to keep away from them, and taken away so many of those we love." She looked up at Mara. "Like your brother."

Though she did not let it show on her face, Mara was momentarily surprised before she remembered that the Mara Jade Winter knew, the university student whom she had recruited into the Rebellion, had a brother who had been imprisoned for refusing his draft orders.

"And now they have who knows how many more of us," Mara said, injecting her tone with what she judged to be an appropriate amount of sadness, not entirely feigned. "From what I saw back at Hoth, almost everyone at the base was either killed or captured."

"A few transports managed to get past the blockade," Winter replied. "A number of fighters made it, as well. We will just have to see who escaped when we finally meet up with the fleet."

Mara nodded silently.

"It won't always be like this," Winter said, smiling reassuringly. "Public opinion is beginning to turn against the Emperor, and sympathy for our cause is growing all the time. More people will realize what a tyrant Vader is, and we'll soon have more help than we know what to do with. The Sith will learn that they can't keep a stranglehold on the galaxy forever."

_You haven't spent time around many Sith_, Mara thought to herself. But outwardly, she smiled in return, as if she appreciated the other woman's words.

The _Falcon_ rocked slightly as Han set it down on one of Cloud City's landing pads. Mara got up, making ready to go outside, and Winter followed her, looking over at the others as they joined them on the way to the ramp.

Han was first down the ramp, the wind ruffling his jacket and hair as he moved out onto the walkway leading from the landing pad. Mara followed, looking around as she emerged from the ship.

Cloud City was, as its name suggested, an enormous white city afloat in a sea of clouds high in the atmosphere of the gas giant Bespin. It mostly served as a mining colony centered around the production of Tibanna gas, Mara knew, but it also had a number of resorts and casinos, owing to the desire of the rich and lazy to relax in spectacular surroundings.

It was early in the local morning, the sun still making the endless fluffy clouds outside seem to glow pink and orange, and the light played over the gray and white buildings in interesting patterns.

"Oh, no one to meet us," C-3PO observed, looking at the empty walkway in front of them.

But, as if summoned by the droid's words, the door opened and several men walked out. Most of the men wore blue uniforms and matching caps, blaster pistols holstered at their sides. One man, dressed in gray, had a shaved head and a cyborg implant around the back of his head, covering his ears. He walked to the side of the small group's leader, a handsome dark-skinned man of about Han's age dressed in black trousers, a light blue shirt, and a flowing cape of the same color.

The men stopped several paces away from the _Falcon_'s crew, and their leader advanced unsmilingly, his gaze fixed on Han.

"Why you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler," he said to Han, by all appearances ready to order his men to shoot. "You got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled."

"I see he knows you," Mara remarked dryly.

Han cast an annoyed glance at her before he turned back to the man, smiling uncomfortably. "Hey, Lando, I can-"

Lando took a slow step toward Han, his eyes still narrowed, and as he made a sudden movement forward, Han flinched, bringing up his fists.

But, surprising all of them, Lando suddenly laughed and grabbed Han in a bear hug. "How are you doin', you old pirate?" he exclaimed, grinning. "So good to see you!"

The tension suddenly broken, Lando's cyborg assistant turned and pointed back the way the Baron-Administrator's party had come, and the blue-uniformed men swiveled in unison and headed back inside.

Winter and Leia exchanged uneasy smiles, apparently relieved, while Mara looked over at Chewbacca to see the big Wookiee looking back at her with a concerned expression similar to her own; something was off here, and they both knew it.

"What are you doing here?" Lando asked Han amiably.

Han gestured back at the _Falcon_ with one hand, half-frowning. "Repairs," he said. "I thought you could help me out."

Lando suddenly adopted a mock-horrified expression. "What have you done to my ship?" he demanded, a hint of a smile lurking at the corners of his mouth.

"_Your_ ship?" Han retorted. "Hey, remember you lost her to me fair and square."

Mara smiled faintly at this; it figured that Han had acquired his disreputable ship by disreputable means. She wondered how many other owners the _Millennium Falcon_ had had besides Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. The starship was older than she was.

Lando smiled wryly, stepping slightly past Han to look at the others. "And how are you doin', Chewbacca?" he asked, looking over at the towering Wookiee. "You still hanging around with this loser?"

Han gave Lando a good-natured insulted look as Chewbacca roared a response. Lando smiled at what Chewbacca had said, but smiled even further when he caught sight of the three women standing behind Han's copilot.

"Hello, what have we here?" Lando said, his manner shifting into a pattern he no doubt considered charming. "Welcome. I'm Lando Calrissian, the administrator of this facility."

Winter smiled politely in reply, while Leia made no secret of not appreciating the man's charm. Mara felt the same, though she disguised it better. Here was a man who was quite handsome, knew it, and used that fact to his greatest advantage whenever possible. Mara had met plenty of men like this over the course of her career, and was quite immune to charm by now.

Lando turned back to Han. "I always said you were a pirate, Solo," he said, grinning. "Where did you kidnap these lovely young ladies from?"

"Hoth," the smuggler replied as Lando turned back around to smile at the women again. "We ran into a little trouble there."

Lando cast an appraising eye over the battered Corellian freighter. "What's wrong with the _Falcon_?" he asked.

"Hyperdrive," Han replied.

Lando nodded, moving off down the walkway toward the door. The others followed him. "I'll get my people to work on her right away," he said. "That ship saved my life quite a few times, you know. She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!"

Mara followed the others into the city, only half listening as Han and Lando talked, discussing conditions at the city and reminiscing about a few of their shared adventures. Her thoughts on a number of things, ranging from Luke to her mission for the Empire, she was completely unprepared for a brief, though extremely powerful brush against her mind through the Force.

Her master was here. Darth Vader was somewhere in Cloud City, and now he knew she was here, as well.

Mara momentarily froze. This was the moment of choice, the time when she had to decide whether to help her friends escape the city or turn them over to her master.

Her master decided for her. _Come to me,_ his voice said within her mind. Along with it came a powerful compulsion to obey, as if he had sensed her troubled thoughts and disapproved, making sure she followed his orders.

The others were a short distance away in the wide, brightly lit white hall, which offered a spectacular view of the clouds outside through the long window that spanned the length of one wall. Mara allowed them to get ahead of her, searching for a doorway to duck through so none of them saw her leave.

However, one of their party noticed her and stopped, turning around. Threepio shuffled back toward her, raising a gold-colored arm. "Mistress Mara!" he said as he approached. "Where are you going?"

Mara frowned. Faced with no choice, she grabbed the droid and pulled him along with her through the first door she saw. A 3PO droid of the same model passed them on its way out of the room, but Mara clapped a hand over Threepio's metal face, whispering for him to stay quiet.

As soon as the other droid left the room, Mara closed and locked the door, raising a warning finger at Threepio. Around them, she heard the subtle hissing and clanking of concealed machinery, along with a few other sounds she could not identify at first but placed as soon as she realized she and Threepio were not alone.

"Mistress Mara, what are you-" the protocol droid began, but he suddenly cut off, staring at something over Mara's shoulder.

She turned to see the muzzle of a blaster rifle three centimeters from her eye, held by a white-armored Imperial Stormtrooper. He was accompanied by six other troopers, who also had their weapons trained on Mara and the droid.

"Who are you?" the commanding trooper demanded, raising his blaster rifle slightly.

Mara turned and drew herself up, adopting the coldly condescending manner she used whenever she had to work with Imperial troops. "Operative 3152," she replied. "Imperial Special Forces. I have no identification; I'm here undercover."

This number and designation were the only trace of Mara Jade in the Imperial military files, but even the file connected to the designation contained only the briefest of summaries. 'Operative 3152' was yet another of her numerous aliases as Emperor's Hand.

The commander did not move his blaster a millimeter. "Call that in," he ordered one of the other men in his squad. The trooper he had spoken to brought a hand up to his helmet, speaking through his comlink for a moment.

The trooper reported his findings to the commander through the squad's helmet comm, the words too muffled for Mara to make out. The commander lowered his own blaster rifle, but none of the other troopers followed. After opening one of the compartments on his armor's utility belt, the commander thrust a small, portable fingerprint scanner at her.

Mara immediately placed her left thumb in the scanner, which flashed and beeped three times. Behind her, Threepio made a surprised noise. Mara sent him a glare over her shoulder, silently ordering him not to speak.

The commander consulted the tiny screen on the side of the scanner, then stiffened and crisply saluted. The other men in his squad relaxed their postures and lowered their rifles, following suit.

"Do you require any assistance, Operative?" the commander inquired.

"Take me to Lord Vader," Mara said, straightening. "I need to deliver my report."

The commander nodded. "What of the droid?" he asked.

Mara looked back over her shoulder at Threepio, who was huddled in horrified astonishment against the wall, clearly terrified. "Dispose of it," she said coldly.

The troopers raised their blasters and fired before Threepio could get out more than a startled squawk. He tumbled backwards into the wall and collapsed against the ground in a heap of golden metal pieces.

"Take that to the nearest garbage chute," the commander ordered. Three of his troopers snatched crates from the shelves around them and began stuffing parts inside, while the commander and the rest of the stormtroopers moved into escort formation.

"Lead the way, Commander," Mara said, doing her best to keep from looking down at the wreckage. She stepped around one of the droid's legs, marching in perfect time with the stormtroopers as they left the storage room and set off down the hall leading from the room's other door.

Mara Jade gave no indication of her inner regret on her face.

* * *

On Dagobah, Luke Skywalker balanced on his hands, his body stiff as he concentrated on holding his position. R2-D2 sat nearby, attempting to hose some of the mud and swamp debris off of Luke's ship.

Master Yoda perched atop a large rock next to the young Jedi, continuing his lesson. "Be calm," he said. "Through the Force, things you will see: the future, the past; old friends long gone."

Luke felt his consciousness drift with the Force, a tiny raft caught in the swirling currents and eddies of a tremendous roaring river. It was wondrous, the river, made up of a thousand different images flooding past him almost too fast to see.

He tried to focus on one he thought he recognized, and for a moment he saw a flash of Obi-Wan's face, much younger, and filled with sorrow.

"_You were my brother, Anakin! And I loved you. I am sorry it had to come to this."_

Luke saw his father's face then, young and surrounded by long, wavy hair, like it had been when he was still a Jedi. Anakin's eyes, however, burned a violent shade of yellow, and his face was twisted in rage.

"_I hate you!"_

Luke pulled away from this image, letting his consciousness drift on through the river.

Another face caught his eye, and at first he thought it was Leia, but as he focused on it, he realized it was instead his mother he saw, her gentle brown eyes filled with worry.

"_What are we going to do?" Padmé said, worry starting to enter both her expression and her tone._

Luke did not recognize the blurry outlines of pillars and red carpet around her, but he did recognize what he saw next: his father, his hair just as long and slightly tousled as it had been in the previous image, but, surprisingly, there was no trace of anger about this Anakin. No, Luke's father seemed much different here, much more… gentle, happy, almost.

_Anakin smiled. "We're not going to worry about anything right now, all right?" He reached up to touch Padmé's face with his flesh-and-blood fingers. "This is a happy moment." He looked down into her beautiful brown eyes. "The happiest moment of my life."_

_She smiled finally, and he leaned down to kiss her as she embraced him._

Luke wasn't sure how he felt at seeing this. Intellectually, he had known that his father hadn't always been the monster he was today. But seeing it, seeing a private, happy moment between his parents, seeing the love on their faces, was something altogether different.

He heard his mother's voice again and focused on it, bringing the associated image to the surface of the figurative river.

_Padmé lay in a bed in a clean white room, surrounded by beeping machines. She seemed very tired, very sad, but also happy as she looked down at the two infants held by a pair of medical droids. Obi-Wan stood next to her, also seeming very tired. The Jedi Master's clothes were covered with soot and burned in several places._

Luke momentarily puzzled over the two infants; did he have a twin brother or sister Obi-Wan hadn't told him about? He returned his attention to the vision as it continued.

"_There is good in him, Obi-Wan," Padmé said weakly, her eyes half-closed. She seemed to be slipping away even then. "I know there is."_

_Obi-Wan attempted to smile reassuringly, but the expression came up bitter instead. "Hold on, Padmé," he said, taking her hand. "Don't give up."_

_But it was too late; Padmé's eyes closed and her grip on Obi-Wan's hand slackened. Several of the machines surrounding her beeped in alarm, but one of the droids quietly silenced them._

_Obi-Wan sighed, a deep sadness coming over his face._

Luke felt a tear slide from the corner of his eye and down into his hair where he balanced in the Dagobah swamp. Obi-Wan had spoken of Padmé's death only once, his voice heavy with grief at the memory, but seeing it for himself nearly overwhelmed Luke.

His attention was drawn to another image in the flood, a tremendous white city floating in a sea of clouds. He focused on it, wondering what its significance was, when he saw Leia's face. Luke concentrated harder, and saw his friend standing in a dark room, filled with steam and lit only in dim orange, throwing an eerie light over her surroundings.

"_I love you!_" _Leia called, huddled against the enormous bulk of Chewbacca, who growled mournfully beside her. _

_Han Solo stood with his hands bound in front of him, trying to maintain a brave expression. "I know," he replied softly, attempting a reassuring smile._

Darth Vader's face appeared, lit in orange from below, and he had never seemed more sinister to Luke than in that moment. His glowing blue mechanical eye contrasted harshly with the orange light of the steam-filled room, giving him an otherworldly aspect.

"_Put him in," the Sith Master ordered. Next to Leia, Chewbacca howled in rage and sorrow. Across from them, Mara Jade stood dressed in Imperial black next to Vader and a grim-looking bounty hunter, her face an expressionless mask, though her eyes glistened strangely in the orange-tinted light._

It was all too much at once for Luke, and he gasped, collapsing painfully to the ground. As he sat up, Yoda looked over at him calmly.

"What did you see?" the ancient Jedi Master asked.

"I saw… I saw a city in the clouds," Luke said, breathing heavily. "I saw my friends, too. They were in pain."

"The future you saw," Yoda said, nodding slightly.

Luke looked up at his teacher. "Will they die?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Yoda closed his eyes for a moment. "Difficult to see," he said finally. "Always in motion is the future."

"I have to help them," Luke said determinedly, starting to get up. He wondered at the significance of seeing Mara dressed in an Imperial uniform in the vision. What did that mean?

"If you leave now, help them you could," said Yoda. "But you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

He left unsaid, though quite plain, that Luke was not ready; if he left now, he would be forced into a confrontation with his father for which he was not prepared.

Luke sank back down to sit on the ground, unsure of what to do.

The images he had seen in his vision, all of them, would not leave his head.

* * *

Sunlight streamed into the central room of the apartments assigned to Han Solo and his group. The apartments were comfortable but not opulent, done up in a reserved style. The main room was circular, furnished with a few couches, tables, and chairs, but little else, save for an abstract sculpture in the center, near an expansive window on the far wall.

In front of this window paced Leia Organa, looking more beautiful to Han than she ever had before, despite the worried expression on her face. She was dressed in a flowing burgundy gown with a cloud-white sleeveless cloak overtop, her long brown hair bound up in two long, looping braids.

Han smiled at her as he entered the room, and she briefly smiled back before resuming her worried expression. "The ship's almost finished," Han said. "Two or three more things and we're in great shape."

"The sooner the better," said Leia, walking towards him. "Something is wrong here. No one has seen or knows anything about Mara or Threepio. They've been gone too long to have gotten lost."

Han gently put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Relax," he said. "I'll talk to Lando and see what I can find out. I'm sure they're fine."

"I don't trust Lando," Leia said as she sat down on one of the low couches.

"Well, I don't trust him, either," Han replied as he sat down next to her. "But, he is my friend." He smiled. "Besides, we'll soon be gone."

Leia smiled back, though there was a hint of sadness in her expression. "And then you're as good as gone, aren't you?"

Han looked down, unable to meet her eyes just then. He hadn't given a whole lot of thought to what he would do after the ship was fixed; he wanted to stay with Leia, but he knew he had to get the bounty off of his head somehow. He didn't want to drag her along on _that_ sure-to-be unpleasant task, but at the same time he definitely didn't want to leave her behind, either.

He was about to reply, but was interrupted by an angrily howling Chewbacca, who strode through the door of the central room with a large crate in his furry arms, overflowing with familiar pieces of golden metal and circuitry.

"Oh, no," Leia said, getting up. "What happened?"

Chewbacca growled back a reply, setting the crate down on one of the low glass tables next to the sculpture.

"Where?" Han asked, looking over at his friend.

Chewbacca clarified, sorting through the box. Several small pieces of the droid fell out.

"Found him in a junk pile?" Han said, puzzled. "Did you find out why?"

Chewbacca growled that he had not. Looking over at Leia, he further reported that he had found no trace of Mara Jade, either.

"Has he seen Mara?" Winter asked as she entered the room, looking over at the others with concern. She wore a similar outfit to Leia's now, but all in white, as was her preference.

"He says he hasn't," Han translated.

He frowned. He could have expected the droid to distractedly wander off from the group, but Mara wasn't like that. He supposed that she could have went off somewhere to be alone like she sometimes did, but she would have told them where she was going first. Something wasn't right here.

The door buzzed, and Lando let himself in, smiling cordially. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?" he said.

"Not really," Leia said distantly.

Lando ignored the princess' aloofness, smiling even more as he stepped further into the room. "You look beautiful," he said, looking over at both Leia and Winter. "Truly, you belong with us here among the clouds."

Han rolled his eyes. Same old Lando.

"Would you care to join me for a little refreshment?" Lando asked. He looked up, as if remembering that Han and Chewbacca were also there. "Everyone's invited, of course."

Han got up and moved to stand next to Leia. "Sure," he said. Chewbacca growled his agreement, but then the Wookiee was always hungry.

Lando glanced down with a faint frown at the crate containing the forcibly disassembled Threepio. "Having trouble with your droid?"

Han offered Leia his arm, affecting an unconcerned expression. "No, no trouble," he said, feigning mild puzzlement. "Why?"

He saw the small smile Leia gave him as she took his arm, and he returned her glance, smiling slightly himself.

* * *

As they walked along toward Lando's private dining room, the Baron-Administrator explained his city's form of government and described the operations.

Leia, always looking for new opportunities to make contacts for the Alliance, began to wonder if she might be able to make a deal with Han's friend to supply Tibanna gas to the Rebellion. They badly needed it, she knew.

"So you're part of the mining guild, then?" she asked after Lando finished speaking.

The group moved through another of Cloud City's expansive white halls, passing a number of humans and aliens moving about their business. The architecture reminded her somewhat of the Royal Palace on Alderaan, and Leia felt a momentary pang at this; at the moment, an Imperial Governor lived in her family's home, ruling the sector from the subjugated world.

"No, not really," Lando replied, bringing her back to the present. "Our operation is small enough not to be noticed."

As they moved within sight of the dining room, its large white doors closed at the end of the hallway, Han asked, "Aren't you afraid the Empire might find out about all this, shut you down?"

"That's always been a danger," Lando replied as they paused in front of the doors. "It's loomed like a shadow over everything we've built. But, circumstances have developed that will ensure security." He looked over at Han, his face going oddly serious. "You see, I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever."

Lando touched a control next to the door, and the huge white doors slid open.

Leia felt Han's arm tense as she looked into the dining room and tensed herself. The room beyond was decorated mostly in white and brightly lit, with wide, airy windows at the far end. This made it all the more disturbing to see a figure robed in black seated at the head of the table, smiling triumphantly.

Darth Vader, Sith Master and fiercest enemy of the Rebellion, rose slowly to his feet, making a mockingly welcoming gesture. Beside him, on either side, stood Grand Admiral Thrawn and the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett, respectively.

Han shot Lando an angry, betrayed look, his hand dropping to his blaster at his side.

"I had no choice," Lando said quietly. "They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry."

Even as he spoke, several squads of stormtroopers appeared out of a number of doors along the hallway, completely surrounding them.

"I'm sorry, too," Han said bitingly.

Suddenly, he pulled away from Leia and stepped in front of her, drawing his blaster in the same motion. He fired several desperate shots at Vader, but the Sith Master simply raised his mechanical hand and deflected the blasts into the wall, small puffs of smoke resulting each time a bolt struck his gauntlet.

Han made to fire again, but a powerful invisible grip snatched the blaster out of his hand and sent it sailing into Vader's.

The Sith Master calmly set the blaster down on the table beside him as he took his seat again. "We would be honored if you would join us," he said, smirking triumphantly.

Glaring darkly at Lando, Han moved further into the dining room. Chewbacca silently bared his teeth at the gambler, and Winter gave him a cold look as she passed him, but somehow, Leia knew Lando really hadn't wanted to do this. It wasn't so much that she saw it on his face, she just somehow _knew_.

As Leia returned her attention to the dark figure before them, she caught a hint of a knowing look on Vader's face as he looked directly at her. She felt a frightening, totally unfamiliar sensation as it seemed to her that something huge and grim looked inside her mind, quietly satisfied with what it found there.

Leia shuddered, deeply disturbed at the touch, and Han looked back at her with concern, silently questioning.

Behind them, the door to the dining room slammed closed with chilling finality.

* * *

Sitting in front of a computer console in the apartment Lord Vader had commandeered for his stay at Cloud City, Mara Jade silently analyzed the blood sample she had taken from Leia. She tried to keep herself from thinking about what was happening to the others right now, and in this effort concentrated more fully on the computer.

As expected, Organa's blood registered the unusual genetic markers peculiar to those with an affinity for the Force. However, something about the results nagged at Mara, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She stared at the readout, puzzled. On a hunch, she pulled up another program and ran a DNA analysis on Organa's blood, comparing it to the Sith personnel database, specifically those old enough to be Leia's genetic parents.

To her shock, Leia Organa's DNA matched up so closely with Darth Vader's that the program helpfully suggested a familial relationship. She ran another test, and a moment later the monitor blinked, reporting a 98% probability that Anakin Skywalker was Leia Organa's genetic father.

Mara leaned back in her chair, taken completely by surprise. Leia was Vader's daughter? Leia herself certainly didn't know this, and it was highly unlikely Lord Vader knew it, either. If he had, he would have put just as much effort into tracking down his daughter over the last few years as he had his son.

Feeling overwhelmed, Mara decided to make sure before she reported her findings. Since this computer had been fitted with a link to the _Executor_'s data banks, Mara used her personal codes to access the first section of Lord Vader's private files, the ones he had given her permission to look through.

She pulled up the information on Luke's mother and noted that it included medical files. Going back to one of her other running programs, she entered Padmé's DNA profile in alongside Vader's and ran another check on Leia's sample.

After a moment, the computer confirmed what Mara had already suspected: Leia Organa was in fact Leia Naberrie Skywalker, the child of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala Naberrie. This made her the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, as the records inside Lord Vader's private files indicated Padmé had been pregnant only once, just before the end of the Clone Wars.

That explained why Leia felt so similar to Luke in the Force, Mara thought with an odd detachment. She had the potential to become just as powerful as her brother and father, Mara realized further.

It was ironic, Mara thought, that two of Lord Vader's most ardent enemies were in fact his own children. How was _he_ going to take this?

Mara did not have to wait long to find out; at that moment, Darth Vader swept into the room, his gaze fixed on Mara. He was alone, but she saw a glimpse of white armor outside before the door closed.

"What have you found, Jade?" he asked, striding over to her, his long black cloak flaring out with the movement.

Mara wordlessly referred him to the monitor, unable to think of what to say.

Vader's eyes narrowed for a moment as he read, but as Mara watched, all color left his face, and he slowly lowered one hand to the computer console in a deceptively casual gesture. No one but Mara, who probably knew him better than anyone but Thrawn and his apprentice, could have seen that he was actually bracing himself on the console, too shocked to trust his balance at that moment.

"That will be all, Jade," he said quietly, an indecipherable emotion coloring his voice.

Mara got up, and as she moved to the door at the edge of the room, she glanced back to see Lord Vader slowly sink into the chair she had just vacated, still staring at the monitor.

She hurried on, not quite sure where she was going or what she was going to do.

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: Much thanks to all readers and reviewers. The next chapter will be up the day after tomorrow. Till next time!


	7. I Am Altering The Deal

**Seven**  
("I Am Altering The Deal")

Against the protestations of both his teachers, Luke Skywalker packed up his X-wing fighter in preparation to leave the small, swampy planet of Dagobah.

"You must not go!" Yoda warned.

"I have to!" Luke replied, pained at the ancient Jedi Master's pleading expression. "I can't get that vision out of my head. I have to help them." He paused, one hand still on the storage compartment on the underside of his fighter. "They're going to die if I don't."

"You don't know that," said Obi-Wan as he materialized next to the other Jedi Master. "Even Yoda cannot see their fate."

"I have to help them!" Luke said again. "Leia and the others are in terrible danger, and I have to do something."

Obi-Wan's expression shifted slightly at this, and Luke recognized the look; Ben knew something but didn't want to tell him. He'd had that look when Luke had asked about his father for the first time, and again when Luke had later asked about his father's fall to the Dark Side.

Luke thought he knew what it was, too. "Leia's my sister, isn't she?" he said suddenly, realizing it just before he spoke. "I saw my mother in a vision, and she had _two_ children. Leia is the other one, isn't she?"

The two Jedi Masters exchanged a silent glance before Yoda finally nodded slightly, and Obi-Wan inclined his head in acquiescence.

"Much do you see," Yoda said quietly, turning back to Luke. "Your sister she is."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Luke demanded of Obi-Wan.

His first teacher sighed, folding his hands inside the sleeves of his robe. "I wanted to, Luke, but I didn't get the chance on Alderaan." He looked up at Luke. "She doesn't know, and I didn't think that was the right time to tell her."

"You want Vader to tell her?" Luke said acidly. "Because if I leave her at Bespin, he's going to figure it out himself." He took a step towards the two Jedi Masters, his eyes burning with determination. "If I'm in danger from him, she's in even worse danger. Leia doesn't even know she can touch the Force, and if Vader gets ahold of her now, he'll be able to shape her into another one of his Sith, like his apprentice. Everything you fear about me, he'll be able to do with her. That's why I have to go. If I don't, he'll make her just like he is, and sooner or later I'll have to fight her. Is that what you what?" Luke snapped, angry now.

Yoda and Obi-Wan weathered the storm silently, great sadness on both their faces.

"If you choose to do this, Luke," Obi-Wan said softly, "you will have to face Vader alone. I cannot interfere."

"I understand," Luke said calmly, doing his best to purge his anger with the Force. He turned to his droid companion. "Artoo, fire up the converters."

Artoo whistled as he set to his task, only too happy to be leaving this dismal bog of a world.

"Luke, use the Force only for knowledge and defense," Obi-Wan advised. "Never as a weapon. Don't give in to hate; it leads only to the Dark Side."

"To Obi-Wan, you listen," Yoda urged. "Mind what you have learned. Save you, it can."

"I will," Luke said as he climbed up into the cockpit of his fighter. "I'll come back, Master Yoda, I promise. I'll bring Leia back so you can teach her, too."

Yoda nodded acceptingly, knowing he could do nothing to keep Luke from going ahead.

"Do not repeat your father's mistakes," Yoda said gravely. "Learn from his fall, you must. Never can you let your emotions cloud your judgment."

Luke nodded solemnly as the cockpit of his fighter closed. Within moments, he was soaring through the atmosphere, sailing into the infinite blackness of space.

As Luke Skywalker's X-wing fighter plotted its hyperspace jump directly to Bespin, a silent black starship tracked his vector and pursued him once again.

* * *

Chewbacca howled his anger and defiance at the horrible cacophony that assaulted his sensitive ears from all sides. He was in a small metal-walled cell, the room the Imperials were keeping him and his friends in when they weren't questioning them.

The range of the painful noise went well beyond that of human hearing, but not that of Wookiees. Chewbacca felt like his eardrums would burst under the assault, and he clapped his hands over his ears, though this did little to block the noise.

Just as suddenly as it had started, the noise ceased, and Chewbacca growled curiously, wondering what the hated Imperials were up to now. A door at one end of the cell opened, and one stormtrooper held a blaster aimed at Chewbacca while another shoved Winter inside. Finally, before they closed the door, one of the troopers pushed a crate full of droid parts inside.

"Get to work," the trooper said in the flat, unemotional tone all stormtroopers seemed to have. The other trooper slammed the door behind them as they left.

Chewbacca asked Winter if she was all right, and though the young Alderaanian woman did not understand his language, she realized his intent, anyway.

"I'm fine, Chewbacca," she said, looking up at him. She smoothed a wrinkle out of her white jumpsuit, more to do something with her shaking hands than anything else, Chewbacca thought.

Chewbacca put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and she smiled gratefully, patting his furry hand. She looked down at the box full of parts, frowning slightly. "Do you think you can fix Threepio?" she asked.

The big Wookiee shrugged, growling a positive-sounding statement in his language to the effect of _Probably_ in Basic.

As he sat down, the door to the cell opened again and Leia was shoved in, now wearing a white jumpsuit similar to Winter's. She glared furiously at the stormtroopers behind her, and they slammed the door in her face as they had before.

Leia turned from the door and embraced her friend. "Are you all right?" she asked Winter. "What have they done to you?"

"Nothing I can't handle," the other young woman replied. "They didn't even use the machine I saw in there."

"What machine?" Leia asked concernedly.

A scream answered her question, long and loud. It took Chewbacca several moments to recognize the voice of the man to whom he owed a life-debt, but once he did, he hurled himself at the door, roaring in rage as he pounded on the metal with his huge fists.

* * *

Lando Calrissian winced as a man he'd called friend screamed, an agonized almost-howl of pain unendurable. He didn't know what Lord Vader was doing to Han inside the room the Empire had commandeered, but by the sound of it, he didn't want to know.

The Baron-Administrator of Cloud City stood at one end of a long, curving hallway lined in red panels, just on the other side of the door to the chamber where Darth Vader and his troops had been 'questioning' the members of Han's crew. On the other side of the hall stood the bounty hunter Boba Fett, silent in his green Mandalorian armor, scarred from a thousand battles. Fett met Lando's eyes through the T-shaped visor of his helmet, totally inscrutable.

With a suddenness that made Lando flinch, the door hissed open and Lord Vader stalked out, his long black cloak nearly filling the hallway as he set off at a rapid pace for the turbolift at the other end of the hall.

"Lord Vader," Lando began, but the Sith Master ignored him, brushing past.

"You may take Captain Solo to Jabba the Hutt after I have Skywalker," Vader said to the bounty hunter, glancing at him only briefly.

"He's no good to me dead," Fett said, sounding more apprehensive about the possible loss of money than out of any concern for Han's well-being.

"He will not be permanently damaged," Vader replied with a hint of a malicious smile, continuing on through the hall on his long legs. The others were forced to walk at close to a jog to keep up.

Lando hurried to catch up before Vader entered the turbolift. "Lord Vader, what about Leia and the others?" he asked.

The door hissed open in front of Vader, and he stepped inside the turbolift. "They must never again leave this city," he replied as he turned around.

Lando stepped forward, keeping the door from closing. "That was never a condition of our agreement!" he objected. "Nor was giving Han to this bounty hunter!"

Darth Vader turned the full force of his glare on Lando. "Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly?" he inquired, a note of warning beneath the deceptive mildness of his tone.

Lando swallowed nervously, feeling just a hint of pressure at his throat. "No."

"Good," Vader said coldly. "It would be unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here."

He somehow pushed Lando backwards a step without moving, and the door to the turbolift closed in front of him.

Lando scowled as he turned around. "This deal is getting worse all the time," he said to himself.

Boba Fett gave him another unreadable look from behind his visor, though Lando thought it could perhaps have been admonishing. The bounty hunter said nothing as he marched off through the corridor, leaving Lando alone with his thoughts.

* * *

It took a long time to get Chewbacca calmed down, but he finally quieted after the screams stopped. Growling to himself, the big Wookiee set to work on putting Threepio back together, grumbling what were no doubt vile epithets in his language against the people hurting his friend. Leia understood his sentiments perfectly; she felt like adding a few curses of her own.

Leia looked up from her seat in the small, dimly lit cell next to Winter as the door opened and two stormtroopers unceremoniously tossed Han Solo inside. She rushed to catch him before he fell to the cold metal floor, aided by Winter.

"I feel terrible," said Han, weakly. He _looked_ terrible; he'd obviously received far worse treatment than any of the others.

Leia recognized the patterns of dark, burned spots on Han's white shirt beneath his jacket; Vader had obviously used his Force Lightning on him, just as he once had on her. She winced at the memory, realizing how much pain Han had to be in.

She and Winter helped Han onto one of the cold metal bunks, and Leia gently laid his head in her lap, lightly running her fingers through his hair. "Why are they doing this?" she said softly.

"I don't know," Han replied, groaning. "They never even asked me any questions."

Leia sighed quietly, leaning down to gently kiss his forehead.

"I suppose now we know what happened to Mara," Winter said sadly.

Leia began to nod in agreement, but suddenly frowned. She was having another of those odd feelings, and without thinking she spoke, only realizing the truth of her words as she gave voice to them. "I don't think so," she said suddenly. "She isn't anywhere near here, and she's not in pain, either."

Winter looked at her curiously, as did both Han and Chewbacca. "How do you know that?" Winter asked.

"That sounds like something Luke would say," Han said, looking up at her,

Before Leia could answer, the door opened again, but this time Lando Calrissian walked in, accompanied by two of his guards. Chewbacca growled savagely, taking a threatening step towards the gambler. The guards brought up their blasters and trained them on the Wookiee, and he reluctantly stopped, still snarling.

"Get out of here, Lando," Han snarled just as savagely as his friend, as he tried to get up.

"Shut up and listen to me a minute," Lando said, his face and the rest of his body tense. "I'm doing what I can to make things easier for you."

"This ought to be good," Han said caustically.

"Vader has agreed to turn you three over to me," Lando said, gesturing to Leia, Winter, and Chewbacca. "You'll have to stay here, but at least you'll be safe."

"What about Han?" Leia asked, her hand on the Corellian's arm as he shifted on the bunk. Somehow, she felt that he was about to spring up from the bunk at Lando, and Leia briefly debated whether or not to stop him.

"Vader's given Han to the bounty hunter," Lando said solemnly.

"He's lying," Winter said, gesturing beyond the cell. "Vader wants us all dead."

"He doesn't want you at all," Lando replied. "He's after somebody called Skywalker."

"Luke?" Leia said, surprised.

Lando nodded grimly. "Lord Vader has set a trap for him, and-"

"And we're the bait," Leia finished, suddenly understanding. After all the time he had spent chasing her and the other members of the Rebellion, Leia knew she suddenly didn't matter to the Sith Master anymore. She and her friends were only useful to him so far as they could help him catch his son.

"All this just to get the kid?" Han said.

Lando nodded. "He's on his way here right now."

"Luke's coming here?" Winter said, aghast. Leia felt the same way; Luke had no idea what was waiting for him here, and he'd be caught for sure.

"You fixed us all pretty good," Han growled, his muscles tensing, "-friend!"

As he said the last word, Han leaped from the bunk and hit Lando with a flying tackle, punching the other man repeatedly as they hit the floor.

Lando's guards quickly surged into motion, and they hauled the cursing Han off of their employer. One of them brutally kicked Han in the stomach, and the other hit him across the face with the butt of his blaster.

"Stop!" Lando shouted, and the guards immediately released Han. The gambler picked up his cape and slowly replaced it around his shoulders as he got to his feet. "I've done what I can for you. I'm sorry it's not better, but I've got my own problems."

"Yeah," Han sneered from the floor as Leia and Winter helped him up again. "You're a real hero."

Lando quickly left the cell, his guards behind him, but only once they were gone did Han finally allow his pain to show on his face. He groaned as his friends helped him up onto the bunk again, pressing a hand to his side where the guard had kicked him.

Leia sat down next to him, slowly shaking her head as she smiled despite the situation. "You certainly have a way with people," she teased. Han smiled slightly himself in reply.

* * *

Luke Skywalker looked down at the huge pink ball that was Bespin, adjusting systems in his fighter as he approached the gas giant.

Artoo twittered behind him, and Luke glanced down at his screen for the translation. "Yes, I'm sure Threepio's with them," he said distractedly, his thoughts more on his friends and his sister.

His sister. How had neither of them ever figured it out before? He and Leia were alike in so many ways that it astonished Luke that it had taken him this long to realize the truth. She looked so much like his mother that he thought he would have known it immediately if he'd ever seen holos of the two of them side by side.

But now she was in the hands of their father, and Luke grimly thought to himself that there were few worse places for her to be right now. Leia had no idea of her power, and Vader would almost certainly take advantage of this to twist his daughter into another of his followers. The Rebellion would be doomed; with that kind of power at his command, nothing in the universe could stop Vader from conquering the entire galaxy. There was little to stop him right now, Luke thought despondently. But no, he couldn't let himself think that way. If he gave up hope, he might as well give up entirely.

As his fighter soared down into Bespin's atmosphere, Luke tried his best to purge all emotions, to replace his worry with calm, his anger with peace. He knew only too well what would happen if he tried to face his father with even a trace of the Dark Side within him.

_I'm coming_, he thought out at his friends, not sure any of them could hear him. _Hold on._

* * *

Lando Calrissian walked behind Vader as the Sith Master entered the large carbon-freezing room. The huge circular chamber was dimly lit, the only real illumination provided by orange safety lighting strips in the floor and ceiling. Steam hissed from a number of pipes, and the clanking of machinery filled the room.

Beside Vader walked one of the young women Han had had with him, the one who had disappeared, only she did not give any indication of being a prisoner. Her long red-gold hair was now pulled back severely from her face, bound into a tight braid at her neck. She was dressed in a black Imperial uniform without insignia, like Vader's, and Lando saw once she turned to look at the chamber that a lightsaber hung from her belt.

When neither of them could see him, Lando glared at the young woman's back. Even if Vader hadn't forced him into this, Han and the others would still have been caught, trapped by Vader's spy that had been with them.

Startling Lando, the young woman looked back at him with penetrating green eyes, her face in an identical glare to his. But there was something in her eyes that gave Lando pause. She wasn't any happier to be part of this than he was, Lando realized.

"This facility is crude," Vader said, stopping midway around the chamber to look down at the central pit. "But it should be adequate for our needs."

"What do you mean?" Lando asked, an icy dread creeping through him as he guessed at the Dark Lord's plan.

Another young woman approached, this one dressed in black and dark gray Sith robes, the orange light reflecting off of her short dark hair. "Ship approaching, my lord," the young woman said to Vader. "X-wing class."

"Good," Vader replied. "Monitor Skywalker and allow him to land."

The young Sith nodded and turned around, walking quickly out of the chamber.

"Skywalker is capable of giving us quite a bit of trouble," Vader said to Lando, still looking down at the central pit. "I intend to freeze him so that I can transport him to a more secure location."

Lando was aghast. "Lord Vader, we only use this facility for carbon freezing," he cautioned. "If you put him in there, it might kill him."

Vader looked back at him, his glowing blue mechanical eye casting eerie shadows across his face in combination with the orange lighting. It gave his face a particularly demonic cast, Lando thought, enhanced by his expression.

"I do not want him damaged," Vader said thoughtfully. "We will test it on Captain Solo."

Lando's eyes widened in horror at the pure evil of this man in front of him as he arbitrarily condemned a man to possible death, simply to test the machinery. In that moment, Lando knew, he became a Rebel. If he lived through this, he was going to do everything in his power to see to it this terrible man was deposed. A man this casual with a sentient life was not worthy of making decisions that affected trillions of them.

Though Vader's spy was much better at hiding it than Lando, he noticed her eyes widen, as well. She hadn't been expecting this, Lando realized, and was just as horrified as he.

"Bring in the prisoners," Vader ordered calmly.

* * *

"You don't pick up any patrol ships, either?" Luke asked of his astromech.

Artoo whistled that he did not, reporting that he detected only commercial traffic around Cloud City.

Luke was relieved at this, though he was still troubled. Something wasn't right here. As he neared the huge white city he had seen in his vision, now convinced his arrival was undetected, he repeated his earlier silent reassurance.

_Hold on. I'm coming._

* * *

_Hold on. I'm coming._

Mara Jade, standing at her master's side in the carbon freezing chamber, heard the words through the Force. It was all she could do to keep her face expressionless, her insides twisting with emotion as she realized Luke was here, ensnared in his father's trap.

She glanced over at Vader, who calmly watched as Han and the others were escorted in by Boba Fett and a squad of stormtroopers. She was horrified at his actions, and only through the great control he himself had taught her was Mara able to hide her thoughts from Vader.

This was not the same man who had found her when she was a child and raised her as if she were his daughter. The Darth Vader she had known growing up would never have casually condemned a man to death like this, just to see if the machinery was safe to do the same to his own son.

For all his talk of balance within the Force, Darth Vader was clearly no longer following his own teachings. The… _thing_ that stood beside her like a great black specter was a creature of the Dark Side now, the very thing he had once so despised. What he was doing now was the exact sort of thing his Sith Master would have done. Vader had used Palpatine as a cautionary example to his students, explaining why it was so dangerous to immerse oneself too fully in the Dark Side, but now he was just as deep in the Dark Side himself, Mara knew.

She weathered the hateful looks Leia and the others sent her way as they now fully realized just who and what she was. Han and Leia both looked like they were ready to sprint across the chamber and strangle her with their bare hands, but Winter just seemed disappointed. Somehow, that made it worse.

Chewbacca bellowed across the chamber at her a dire Wookiee threat, not entirely translatable to Basic. The general sentiment was that if he ever got his paws on her, he was going to destroy her so thoroughly there wouldn't be enough of her left to feed to the katarns. The threat was so grave that it was reserved only for those who had betrayed the clan so heinously that they were no longer worthy to bear their own name.

Mara felt the term was entirely appropriate. Here were people she had lived and worked with for the last three years, people she had come to care about, even see as friends, and now she was doing nothing as they were about to be either killed or imprisoned by their enemies.

"I told you she was one of them," Threepio said from where he rode on Chewbacca's back, only partially reassembled. "She had the stormtroopers shoot me!"

Vader glanced down at her, then looked back over at the prisoners, a cruelly mocking smile quirking his lips. Mara's stomach sank even further.

Han, his arms bound at his sides, took a step closer to Lando, who stood in front of their group next to the freezing pit. "What's going on… buddy?" he said, putting sarcastic emphasis on the final word.

"You're being put into carbon freeze," Lando replied, his expression grave. Mara could see from here that he felt similarly to her; he was being forced into this by the circumstances, and felt terrible about what he was doing.

"What if he doesn't survive?" Boba Fett asked Vader from the Sith Master's other side. "He's worth a lot to me."

"The Empire will compensate you if he dies," Vader replied casually. He gestured at the pit. "Put him in," he ordered.

At this, Chewbacca went berserk. Howling with rage, he smashed a stormtrooper over the side of the platform surrounding the carbon-freezing pit, surging toward his friend. Fett raised his blaster rifle, about to shoot, but Vader put a hand on the muzzle and shoved it down, still watching calmly.

"Hey! Chewie! Stop!" Han got in front of his friend, trying to calm him down. "Hey, this doesn't help me, okay? Save your strength. There'll be another time."

Reluctantly, Chewbacca allowed the stormtroopers surrounding their group to put binders on his hands.

"The others, you have to take care of them, all right?" Han said. "It's up to you now."

Growling quietly, Chewbacca relaxed and took a step back.

Next to him, Leia looked up at Han, and suddenly rushed over to him. She kissed him passionately, and he returned it as best he could with his arms bound behind his back.

Two stormtroopers grabbed hold of Han's arms and jerked them apart, pushing Han over to the platform in the center of the freezing pit.

"I love you!" Leia called over to Han, sorrow and frustration filling her face.

"I know," he replied softly, attempting a reassuring smile.

An Ugnaught removed the binders on Han's hands and pushed him back slightly, positioning him in the center of the slowly lowering platform. The small, pig-like alien scrambled clear of the apparatus and rushed over to the control panel, where another of its kind waited. Mara noticed Vader turn his head to watch the alien, no doubt memorizing the procedure.

Chewbacca bellowed again and again as the platform slowly lowered into the hissing, steaming pit, and Leia clung to his side, watching helplessly. Winter stood next to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Han kept his eyes on Leia as long as he could, Mara saw, until the pit suddenly filled with cold vapors and he was hidden from sight.

A line of tears escaped Mara's control and slid down her cheek, the first in many, many years.

* * *

Leia had to turn away as the pit holding the man she loved filled with a cloud of bitter-smelling vapors and concealed him from her sight. Chewbacca threw back his head and let out a long, mournful howl. Even Threepio was silent for once. Winter was quiet beside her, but Leia could feel her friend's hand on her shoulder trembling.

As the steam cleared, Leia saw Darth Vader staring right at her, his glowing blue eye gleaming in the distorted air. There was a strange cast to his expression, an odd combination of malevolent amusement at what was happening and something that could almost have been apology directed at her.

Disturbed and confused, Leia glanced away, and her gaze was caught by the face of Mara Jade, standing next to the Sith Master with her arms clasped behind her back. Her face was stoically expressionless, but as Leia looked closer, she realized that Mara was crying, a slow line of tears sliding down her face as she stared at the cloudy pit. Her eyes glistened wetly in the otherworldly orange light.

With another of her strange feelings, Leia realized that Mara truly was upset at what was happening. Her hatred of this seeming traitor slowly faded, replaced with a sort of understanding. Mara Jade was obviously a great deal more complicated than she'd seemed to Leia over the last few years. She wondered what the Imperial agent would do, here at this personal crisis.

Vader turned a sharply disappointed look on his student beside him and said something harshly reproving that Leia couldn't make out over the hissing of the machinery. Mara nodded fractionally and reached up to wipe away her tears with one gloved hand.

Leia's attention returned to the freezing chamber as the enormous grasping claw above the central slowly lowered with a great whirring of powerful motors. It emerged from the cloud of vapor with a dark gray rectangular block, a line of glowing monitors gleaming on both sides. Han's face, frozen in a pained expression, was clearly visible in the block, seeming almost as if he had been turned to stone.

With chilling indifference, the Ugnaught manning the console released the grasping claw, and the block of carbonite encasing Han tipped over and slammed against the metal grating of the floor.

Lando moved over to the block and knelt beside it, checking the monitors.

"Well, Calrissian?" Vader inquired, his eyes fixed on the Baron-Administrator. "Did he survive?"

"He's alive," Lando replied. "And in perfect hibernation."

Leia felt an enormous sense of relief at Lando's words. Winter's hand tightened on her shoulder, and Leia glanced over at her friend to see her with a small, tight smile on her face, quietly relieved. Leia smiled back in gratitude.

"He's all yours, bounty hunter," Vader said with a glance at Fett. He turned to the Ugnaught at the freezing chamber's controls. "Reset the chamber for Skywalker."

The young Sith woman Leia had seen earlier, the one with Kuati features and short dark hair, approached Vader as Boba Fett and the stormtroopers moved to take possession of the block of carbonite.

"Skywalker has just landed, my lord," the young woman reported.

"Good," said Vader. "See to it that he finds his way in here."

As the young woman moved off, she met Leia's eyes briefly with a meaningful look. Leia was puzzled at this, but kept her face expressionless.

Vader turned to Mara Jade. "The princess stays with me," he told her. "Take the others to my shuttle."

"Now, wait a minute!" Lando objected hotly. "The deal was that they were supposed to stay here!"

"I am altering the deal," Vader snapped as he turned to the gambler, a clear note of threat in his voice. "Pray I don't alter it any further."

Lando brought one hand up to his throat, swallowing nervously. Leia felt an odd sense of power emanating from Vader, and as it stopped, Lando sucked in a deep breath, as if he had been unable to breathe for a moment.

As she realized what had just happened, something clicked within Leia's mind. The Force! Her odd feelings had to be the Force, that great power Luke often described to her. Somehow, Leia realized with surprise, she was able to touch the Force now, just as he was.

Vader turned a knowing look on her then, smiling in both satisfaction and, oddly, pride. As the others left the carbon freezing chamber, he kept eye contact, and Leia was mesmerized by his penetrating gaze, almost unable to move.

"You know now, don't you?" Vader said with grim satisfaction.

Leia realized they were alone, and she shrank back a step from his terrible presence. "What are you going to do with me?" she asked nervously.

"Teach you," Vader replied. "You are powerful, young one, more than you know. You will make a mighty Sith."

A hot flow of objection rose to the surface, and Leia allowed it to rise, sneering at him. "And what makes you think I have any intention of letting you twist me into one of your monsters?" she spat defiantly.

"You have little choice in the matter," Vader said with chilling finality. "You will learn alongside my son."

"Luke will never join you!" Leia said, growing bolder now. "And neither will I!"

Vader merely smiled enigmatically in reply.

* * *

With Artoo at his side, Luke quickly but quietly made his way through the wide white halls of Cloud City, one hand on the blaster at his side. His lightsaber bumped against his leg with every step, and Luke was comforted by its familiar weight.

He was, however, concerned that no one had stopped him thus far. He hadn't been asked for landing clearance, no one had been there to question him as to the purpose of his visit, and indeed, he had seen no other sentients on his way here. Cloud City seemed ominously deserted.

The Force crackled around him in warning; his father was here, somewhere nearby, and he knew Luke was here, as well. The young warrior felt a subtle pull on his consciousness, summoning him deeper into the city.

Steeling himself, Luke followed the pull, knowing he had to answer the call. On his way, he caught sight of a group of people moving through an intersection ahead, and he ducked behind an open doorway as he recognized the familiar white armor of the stormtroopers.

Luke also recognized the bounty hunter Boba Fett, walking ahead of a group of blue-uniformed guards who escorted a hovering block of dark gray metal. He thought he could see a human figure that seemed to be encased in the block, and was puzzled at this.

But he paused in shock at seeing who was walking behind the hovering block. He almost didn't recognize her at first, since her hair was pulled back into an uncharacteristic tight braid and she was wearing a black Imperial uniform, but as he got a better look at her face, Luke was startled to realize the woman was none other than Mara Jade.

The implications were overwhelming. Mara was an Imperial agent? His vision was true then; she _did_ serve Vader!

Luke was almost too surprised to process the rest of the scene, but he recognized the huge brown hulk of Chewbacca, who had a black netting bag containing Threepio slung over his back, the droid's unattached legs at the bottom. Ahead of Chewbacca walked an unfamiliar dark-skinned man in a blue cape, leading a mixed group of the blue-uniformed guards and white-armored stormtroopers that surrounded the Wookiee and Winter. Luke noted that both Leia and Han were absent, and he wondered where they were.

Boba Fett suddenly turned and fired several bolts at Luke, and the young warrior ducked further behind the doorway, pulling his blaster in preparation to fire back.

Fett, Mara, and the blue-uniformed guards rushed the dark gray block through the door at the end of their hall, but the group led by the unfamiliar man hung back for a moment.

As Luke looked around the doorway, Winter saw him and tried to break away from the guards. "Luke, don't!" she shouted to him. "It's a trap!"

The stormtroopers grabbed her and muscled her ahead, through the doorway, but she broke away for a moment, her hands on the wall next to the door. "It's a trap!" she shouted again, before a few of the troopers laid down covering fire and forced Luke behind his own door again.

When the blaster fire ceased, the door had shut behind them. Luke cautiously moved ahead, ready to go after them, but suddenly, all of the open doors in that section of the corridor slammed closed, including the one behind him. He heard Artoo's startled shriek as the little barrel-shaped droid managed to pull back just in time to avoid being crushed.

Alone, Luke moved down the corridor on the only path available to him, drawn inexorably forward by his father's presence. The only open door led into a small, dark anteroom, filled with hissing pipes and whirring, clanking machinery in stark contrast to the quiet white halls outside. Luke holstered his blaster and instead took out his lightsaber as he explored the small room, keeping the hilt in his hand but not igniting the blade just yet.

Without warning, a hatch hissed open above him and the section of floor upon which he was standing abruptly lurched upward, whisking him into a new room.

Luke recognized the wide, circular room from his vision, and as he looked around the dimly lit chamber, bathed in otherworldly orange light, he extended his senses out through the Force, knowing he was not alone despite the deserted appearance of the room.

A great cloud of steam belched forth from the pit at the center of the chamber, and when it cleared, an enormous black shape stood at the top of the stairs on the opposite side of the platform, starkly silhouetted in the ethereal orange light. A glowing blue eye cast eerie shadows over the dark figure's face, contrasting with the orange glow illuminating him from below.

He looked like nothing so much as a demon suddenly appeared from some underworld too terrible to imagine, huge and ominously threatening.

For the first time in his life, Luke Skywalker heard his father speak to him in person.

"The Force is with you, my son," Darth Vader boomed down from his perch, his deep voice echoing slightly in the cavernous chamber. "But you are not a Jedi yet."

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: Chapter 8 will be up the day after tomorrow. Thanks for reading!


	8. The Rescue

**Eight**  
(The Rescue)

Mara Jade walked behind the hovering dark gray block of carbonite containing the frozen Han Solo, her eyes on the deadly bounty hunter at the block's other end.

Ever since Darth Vader had ordered Han frozen in carbonite, a plot had been formulating in the back of Mara's mind, carefully concealed behind her mental shields, and she was sure her master had no inkling of what she was planning.

No, Mara thought firmly; Darth Vader was her master no longer. He had broken all ties to her, forfeited any right to command her as he had in the past, when he casually condemned Han Solo to his fate, callous and indifferent to the outcome. He was too far gone, too different from the man she had once so respected, to have any hold over her at all. She could not loyally serve the man he had become and still live with herself.

Her decision made, Mara took the first step in forever severing her ties to her former master.

"Escort them to Lord Vader's shuttle," Mara ordered the stormtroopers and the blue-uniformed Cloud City security officers. "I'll take this to Hunter Fett's ship myself." She gestured with feigned coldness at the frozen Corellian.

Everyone except Boba Fett moved off to join the group surrounding Winter and Chewbacca, who had the partially reassembled droid C-3PO in a netting bag on his back. Lando Calrissian gave her a curious look, but to maintain her cover, Mara merely glared at him in reply, silently ordering him to obey with all the arrogance of a Sith.

Chewbacca gave her a last, threatening snarl before their group moved off down another hallway, promising the deadliest revenge should they meet again.

Ignoring him, Mara gestured off toward the landing pad where _Slave I_, Fett's vessel, waited, and the grim warrior inclined his head, marching off to his ship.

As they emerged into the open air, Mara pushing the frozen Han before her on the repulsorlift cushion mounted under the carbonite block, Fett turned his helmeted head back toward her. "Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold," the bounty hunter said, gesturing with one gauntleted hand at his sleek vessel on the round pad beyond.

Mara nodded, moving as if to comply, but as soon as Fett had turned around again, she gathered the Force to herself and threw her arm out toward the hunter, sending a powerful Force shove at his head and shoulders.

Fett stumbled, off-balanced momentarily, and Mara shoved again, toppling him over the side of the walkway. He had time only for a startled shout before he disappeared, his blaster firing once in a useless shot back at her that missed by several meters.

Mara immediately shoved the block of carbonite back through the door, pushing with all her might to send it sailing into the hall beyond. She started after it, but suddenly, a cable wrapped around her ankles and sent her sprawling forward. She clipped her chin on the heavy block before it soared into the doorway without her, and she hit the ground heavily, sending her breath out of her in a startled gust.

Boba Fett, who had a death-grip on the edge of the platform with one hand, pulled back on the cable extending out of his other gauntlet, jerking Mara off-balance as she tried to get up.

Mara pulled her lightsaber from her belt and ignited its magenta blade, sweeping it down to sever the cable binding her ankles. She rolled away as Fett cocked his other gauntlet at her and sent a powerful stream of flame coursing down the walkway.

Fett activated the jetpack on his back in a short burst, sending the armored warrior sailing up in a long arc toward her. Mara shoved with the Force and sent him crashing into his ship, but the bounty hunter, with almost superhuman reflexes, cut his rocket pack and grabbed onto a protuberance on the hull of his vessel, enabling him to land on his feet.

He immediately pulled a blaster from his belt and fired repeatedly at her, but Mara expertly deflected the bolts aside with her lightsaber. Even four years out of practice, the forms endlessly drilled into her by Vader and her other instructors returned immediately, surging up to join her along with the powerful current of the Force.

Mara allowed herself to be pushed back along the walkway, headed for the silent block of carbonite waiting next to the enormous door at the end. Fett saw what she was doing and sent another stream of flame out at her from his gauntlet, but Mara pushed it aside with the Force, in the next second sending a long, crackling burst of purple-blue lightning from her fingertips at the hunter.

The blast of Force Lightning caught Boba Fett full in the chest, and he stumbled backwards, screaming in pain. Mara kept up the burst until he had fallen back, twisting as he fell to land heavily on his chest.

Mara cautiously watched the fallen hunter for a moment as he lay there, his armor smoking, and once she was sure he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, she turned and ran for the door.

She shoved the block the final meter inside the hallway, and turned to punch the controls for the heavy durasteel door. It slammed closed with an echoing clang, but only a moment after it did so, Mara heard the muffled sound of an explosion as the astonishingly quick-to-recover Fett launched a rocket grenade into the barrier. The huge, thick door bulged slightly at the place where the grenade had impacted, but otherwise remained intact.

Satisfied the door would hold Fett for at least a few moments, Mara grabbed hold of the carbonite block and hauled it around, racing as fast as she could for the _Millennium Falcon_'s landing pad further down the complex.

Her legs burned as she ran as fast as she could down the halls, pushing the frozen Han in front of her, but Mara ignored the pain, knowing Fett would have reported her actions to Vader by now. Every stormtrooper in Cloud City would be racing for the _Falcon_ in an attempt to beat her there, she knew. She had to be faster.

Mara was almost there when a sudden, powerful burst of Force Lightning caught her in the side and back, hurling her all the way across the hall to slam with incredible force against the wall.

Gasping in pain, Mara tried to get up, feeling like her entire body was on fire. She heard the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber igniting next to her, and as she struggled to roll over, the tip of the scarlet blade appeared in front of her eyes.

She looked up to see the tall, dark shape of Darth Nova standing over her, his eyes burning a hateful yellow as he glared down at her in incredible wrath.

"_Traitor!_" he snarled, the word an almost animal growl. He was breathing heavily, his fury so great the walls around them were actually beginning to smoke and melt. The sharp smell of burning plastic assaulted her nostrils, nearly making Mara gag on the stench.

"I will burn your flesh from your bones for this betrayal," Nova snarled between clenched teeth. "But I will leave you alive for whatever punishment Lord Vader has for you."

Mara made no reply, simply pulling her lightsaber into her hand with the Force. She smashed Nova's blade aside with her own, leaping to her feet. The Sith Lord roared with rage as he sent another blindingly bright stream of Force Lightning at her, but Mara managed to catch it on her lightsaber and deflect it aside, where it blew a hole in the wall panel beside her.

Screaming with anger, Darth Nova charged at her again.

* * *

A squad of Imperial stormtroopers surrounded Winter and Chewbacca, following Lando Calrissian toward Darth Vader's shuttle. The Alderaanian woman and the Wookiee were silent as they walked along, but their droid was not.

"I can't believe Mistress Mara would betray us like this!" Threepio said, waving his one functional arm from the bag on Chewbacca's back. "I would never have believed she was an Imperial spy! Oh, this is going to be so hard on Master Luke," he said sadly.

Lando ignored the droid as he approached the upcoming intersection, where his assistant Lobot waited with a dozen more of the blue-uniformed security officers. He nodded fractionally to Lobot, and the other man nodded slightly in response, the overhead lighting reflecting from his shaved head and the gleaming metal implant that wrapped around the back of his skull.

At a quick gesture from Lobot, the Cloud City security officers suddenly raised their blasters, aiming them at the stormtroopers, and the Imperials halted in confusion.

"Take them to the security tower," Lando said to Lobot. "And keep it quiet."

The cyborg nodded, and he and the security guards surrounded the troopers, gesturing for them to put their hands up and surrender their weapons.

Lando turned around and grabbed the blaster rifles from the two nearest troopers, handing one to Winter, who regarded him with a surprised look.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm getting you out of here," Lando replied, unlocking the binders on Chewbacca's hands.

But as soon as his hands were free, the big Wookiee snarled and wrapped his paws around Lando's throat. Lando gasped, trying to pry the Wookiee off of him, but he just wasn't strong enough.

"Chewbacca, stop!" Winter said, putting a hand on his arm, but the Wookiee only tightened his grip.

Lando tried to explain, but he couldn't get any air. Black spots streamed in front of his eyes, and he felt the world going dark around him.

"Chewbacca!" Winter said sharply. "Let go!"

The Wookiee's grip slackened, and Lando sucked in a strained breath. "Han," he gasped out, though his voice was rough.

"What did he say?" Winter asked.

"It sounds like 'Han'," Threepio said from Chewbacca's back. "Let go of him, you woolly barbarian!" the droid exclaimed. "He's trying to tell us something."

"There's still a chance to save Han," Lando strained out. "At the east platform!"

Chewbacca finally let go completely, and Lando sank to his knees, breathing heavily. Winter helped him to his feet and handed him a blaster rifle.

"Come on," she said. "We'll need your help."

Lando massaged his throat with one hand, still gasping for breath as he followed them down the hall, intent on rescuing their friend.

* * *

Luke Skywalker stood at the bottom of a short flight of steps in the dimly lit carbon-freezing chamber, his lightsaber in hand. At the top of those steps stood the menacing black specter of Darth Vader, his hands hidden by the drape of his cloak around him, calmly looking down at his son.

Midway around the platform surrounding the freezing pit sat Princess Leia, watching as father and son regarded each other silently for a moment. She could feel the power crackling around the two men, and it seemed to her that both of them shone bright as beacons, though no light was visible.

"There is no need for us to fight," Vader said.

"I can't let you have her, Father," Luke replied with equal calm. "I won't allow you to twist Leia into one of your followers."

"There is no 'twisting' involved," Vader retorted. "I use the Force as it is meant to be used, and soon both you and she will see the truth."

Luke took a step forward, glancing over at Leia for a moment. Leia saw both great determination and affection in his expression, and she was reassured, knowing he would do his best to get her away from this monster. She dimly felt him brush her mind comfortingly in the Force, and marveled at the sensation, unlike anything she had felt before.

Above, Vader nodded in acceptance and ignited his lightsaber. The ruby beam cast blood-red shadows on his face, making the Sith Master appear even more sinister.

Luke activated his own weapon, and the sapphire beam surged out with a loud _snap-hiss_, humming in the peculiar way Jedi weapons did as he raised his blade into a guard position.

With a challenging shout, Darth Vader leaped down the steps, his cloak flaring out behind him as he raised his blade over his head. As he landed, he smashed his blade against his son's, and Leia winced as Luke was forced a step backwards.

The younger Skywalker pivoted on one foot, keeping his blade raised as he snapped a kick out at his father's leg. Vader leaped over the kick, whirling his blade down in a furious series of quickly moving circular slashes.

Luke blocked them all, moving his shining blue weapon expertly through a defensive pattern. He halted a heavy blow meant for his torso and shoved the other blade away, advancing with a spinning slash that he followed up with a sequence of diagonal chops, forcing Vader backwards.

"Obi-Wan has taught you well," Vader said as they paused, weapons in guard position. He snapped his scarlet blade out in a thrust, which Luke neatly parried, forcing his father's blade out and downwards. "You have controlled your fear."

Luke did not reply, advancing with a heavy, two-handed overhead slash. Vader angled his blade horizontally and caught the slash, deflecting it to the side. Their weapons locked, Vader looked over the blades at his son.

"You are restricting yourself!" he goaded. "You only use half the power available to you."

Again, Luke said nothing, but he pulled back and quickly whirled, slamming his blade against Vader's six times in rapid succession, taking a step forward. The glowing, humming energy weapons sparked and crackled each time they touched, humming like a colony full of dangerous insects as the two men swung them with superhuman speed.

Leia watched in awed fascination as father and son drove each other around the platform, both seeming to be equally skilled and unable to overcome the other. At times, each would attempt to outmaneuver the other through an acrobatic flip, vaulting through the air in an attempt to get behind the other. But each time, either Luke or Vader would manage to sidestep the other's charge, spinning to keep their glowing weapons between them.

Finally, Luke tried again, somersaulting over Vader's head, and the Sith Master, instead of spinning to catch the swing of his son's lightsaber, stepped to the side and thrust out his hand. Luke tumbled through the air as Vader's Force push altered his trajectory, and he slammed heavily into the mass of tubing above the central freezing pit. Leia gasped as he fell inside, out of sight.

Vader immediately turned and activated the console next to Leia with the Force, pulling the lever that filled the chamber with carbonite. The chamber hissed, and a billowing cloud of steam poured out, obscuring them both from Leia's view.

"All too easy," the Sith Master said, sounding disappointed. "Perhaps you are not as powerful as I thought."

But even as he spoke, Leia caught a flicker of movement above the Dark Lord's head; Luke had leaped back up to the ceiling of the chamber, and was clinging to the grasping claw with his legs and one hand, his deactivated lightsaber in the other.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Luke taunted from his perch.

Vader looked up, a darkly approving smile crossing his face. "Impressive," he said appreciatively. "Most impressive."

Luke ignited his lightsaber and slashed one of the hoses surrounding the grasping claw. With his other hand, he grabbed the hose and shoved it in Vader's face, blinding him for a moment with the freezing cloud pouring out of the severed end.

But even as Vader spun away from the cloud, he seized Luke with the Force and hurled him across the chamber. Luke crashed into the stairs with a pained groan, and his lightsaber flew from his hand, skittering away across the metal grating of the floor.

Vader swooped in, his lightsaber held high, and Leia could see from where she sat that Luke would not be able to recover in time.

Desperately, she drew on her newfound power, and to her relieved surprise, Luke's lightsaber leaped into her hand. She ignited the blade as she jumped to her feet, and just as Vader swung down at the fallen Luke, she thrust the glowing sapphire blade in front of him, catching the heavy slash.

The force behind the blow nearly ripped the lightsaber from her hands, but Leia tightened her grip, looking up at the Sith Master resolutely.

"Excellent!" the Dark Lord exclaimed in delight. "You are indeed powerful!"

Luke looked up at Leia from beneath the crossed blades, surprised. Truthfully, Leia wasn't any less surprised than he; she hadn't expected her desperate gambit to work at all.

But then another sudden realization gripped Leia: Vader had done that on purpose to goad her into tapping into her power. He _wanted_ her to use the Force, to discover what she could do.

Luke scrambled backwards and got to his feet, one hand stretched out toward Leia to take back his weapon, but Vader viciously backhanded him with his mechanical arm, and Luke tumbled away, dropping right over the edge of the platform with a surprised cry.

Leia slowly backed away from Vader, trying to hold the unfamiliar weapon in her hands the way Luke had, and tried fiercely to calm her wildly beating heart. She was all alone against Vader now, and she was painfully aware of her vulnerability.

She might be able to touch the Force, she knew, but she had no idea how to control it, or how to wield the weapon she held.

Vader advanced, bringing up his blade in preparation for a strike.

* * *

Mara Jade felt the repulsorlift supporting the block of carbonite containing Han Solo strain under her added weight as she leaped atop the block, dodging a slash of Darth Nova's lightsaber.

The Sith Lord sent out an overwhelmingly powerful Force shove that knocked Mara head over heels backwards, and she hit the back of her head sharply on the far end of the carbonite block before toppling to the ground to land heavily on her stomach.

Mara gasped for breath, forcing herself to get up and hold her lightsaber defensively as Darth Nova came flying over the floating block, his scarlet lightsaber gouging a chunk out of the floor where her head had been a moment earlier.

Her lungs straining, her muscles protesting, and her bones aching, Mara Jade determinedly forced herself to her feet, raising her lightsaber again. Her body hurt so badly that every movement sent another lance of fiery pain coursing through her, but she could not give up. She had sworn to make sure Han Solo and the other Rebels escaped this city, and she would make that happen even if it cost her her life.

Darth Nova seemed intent on making sure it would go that far, wildly swinging his lightsaber at her in a furious offensive pattern, slicing great gouges out of the walls as he pursued her down the hall, screaming in rage.

With a mighty yell of effort, Nova seized the block of carbonite with the Force and swung it at Mara like a battering ram. She dropped to the floor, letting it pass over her, and as soon as it had passed, she jumped to her feet and ignited her lightsaber again. Nova advanced, making as if to charge, but Mara felt a sudden flare of warning, and started to throw herself into a back-flip.

Nova was too fast, though, and the block of carbonite struck her knees just as she began the flip, making her slam into it hard enough to force the breath from her lungs. Mara's lightsaber flew from her hand, and as the block shifted violently, she dropped to the floor, stunned.

Darth Nova grinned malevolently as she gasped for breath, and slowly stalked down the hall towards her. He shoved the floating block aside contemptuously, sending it over to bump into the opposite wall. Mara gritted her teeth against the pain in her back, trying with all her might to get up again. But a heavy invisible hand slapped her back down against the floor, holding her there as Nova approached.

Mara tried to reach out for her lightsaber, gasping against the crushing pressure on her chest, but as Nova stepped closer, he slowly, mockingly placed his boot on the hilt of her weapon and swept it backward through the hall, sending it skittering along the floor until it bumped against the far door, one she had closed behind her in an attempt to slow Fett down.

Now that door trapped her. There was nowhere for Mara to go, no place to escape.

As she struggled to free herself from Nova's powerful grip, Mara realized that wasn't quite right. The other door a few meters away led out to the landing pad on which the _Millennium Falcon_ perched, waiting.

With a desperate surge of effort, Mara threw out her hand and again summoned a chain of Force Lightning, sending it surging out at her former ally. Nova caught one of the bolts on his lightsaber, but as Mara increased the strength of the stream, other twitching fingers of lightning impacted his chest and shoulders, and he stumbled back, crying out in pain.

The crushing grip holding her on the floor vanished, and as soon as it did, Mara held out her hand and called her lightsaber to her. The instant the familiar hilt touched her palm, she turned and ran for the door, manipulating the controls with the Force as she did so.

Nova pursued, howling with rage, and Mara had to ignore the pain coming from almost every part of her body as she ran out into the open air. Some of her hair had escaped the braid at her neck during her battles, and now the wind whipped it around her head, sending long red-gold strands fluttering in front of her eyes.

Mara backed toward the _Falcon_, igniting her magenta lightsaber again, and hastily clawed her hair out of her eyes with one hand. Nova, his own lightsaber held high, gathered an enormous amount of power to himself in preparation for something big. Mara's thoughts whirled as she tried to think of a way to counter whatever he was about to do, trying to sense where he was directing his energy so that she could avoid the attack.

But, it turned out that she would never know what Nova had been planning to do; a bright red blaster bolt lanced out from the doorway and slammed into Nova's shoulder from behind, knocking him off-balance. Mara took advantage of his momentary misstep to hurl more Force Lightning into his chest and face, driving him further backwards.

Snarling, Nova advanced despite the lightning pouring into him, struggling to raise his lightsaber again, but then a virtual rain of blaster bolts peppered him from behind. Mara dropped her lightsaber and ran forward, determined to ensure his end.

Leaping with all her might, Mara tackled Nova over the side of the walkway. He sent his own surge of Force Lightning into her as they fell, and Mara screamed at the agonizing pain, but it was too late; there was nothing for Nova to grab onto.

Through an extraordinary stroke of luck, Mara was able to seize a bracing support on the underside of the walkway, and she tightened her grip with all her fading strength, watching as Nova tumbled out of control into the endless sky below.

Mara felt her muscles cramping from the terrible exertion she'd placed on them, and her trembling fingers slowly began to slacken their grip on the metal brace despite her frantic attempts to hang on.

Above, the faces of Winter, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca appeared over the side of the walkway, looking down at her.

"Help me!" Mara screamed up at them. "Please, help!"

"Hold on!" Lando shouted down. "We're coming!" He turned to the Wookiee beside him. "Chewbacca, quick, go get a cord from the _Falcon_!"

But the Wookiee did not move. He bared his teeth down at Mara, snarling in his language that she was about to get what she deserved; he had no intention whatsoever of helping her.

Lando turned in confusion and desperation to Winter, standing coldly on his other side. "We can't just let her fall!" he exclaimed. "We have to help her!"

Winter looked down at Mara, struggling to hold on, with a coolly aloof expression. "Were you trying to save Han?" she called down, her voice maddeningly calm.

"Yes!" Mara shouted desperately. "I don't serve the Empire anymore! You have to believe me, I was trying to help!"

Winter was silent for three agonizingly drawn-out heartbeats, looking down at Mara, but finally, she nodded. "All right," she said, looking over at Chewbacca. "Go get some cord."

The Wookiee snarled in objection, but Winter's eyes blazed. "Now!" she said firmly, an unmistakable note of command in her voice.

Chewbacca growled quietly, but acquiesced and jogged off toward the _Falcon_, followed by Lando. Winter remained where she was.

"Do you swear you have left the service of the Empire?" she said, kneeling at the edge of the walkway. The wind whipped her long white hair around her head, but she was otherwise motionless, staring down at Mara with a penetrating gaze.

"Yes!" Mara answered, meaning it fully. "I can't serve Vader anymore. I really do want to help you stop him now."

Winter smiled slightly then. "I believe you," she said.

Chewbacca reappeared, holding a length of sturdy black strapping, and he lowered one weighted end to her. Mara gratefully seized the woven cord, holding on tightly with both hands as she let go of the support.

For a long moment, Chewbacca left her dangling where she was, his muscles bulging beneath his fur. He growled down to her that if she gave even the slightest indication of betraying them again, he would rip her to shreds. She nodded understandingly, and with a mighty heave, he pulled her up onto the metal walkway.

As she collapsed, gasping, on the cold metal, Mara saw Luke's astromech come flying around a corner, whistling frantically. Winter stopped where she stood, tucking Mara's lightsaber into her pocket, and suddenly raised the blaster rifle she held in her other hand.

"Artoo!" Threepio exclaimed from Chewbacca's back. "Where did you come from?"

The little droid whistled and tweeted with frantic speed, and Threepio emitted an electronic gasp. "He says there are stormtroopers right behind him!" the protocol droid wailed. "Quickly, Chewbacca, get us out of here!"

The Wookiee turned and jogged off for the _Falcon_, leaving Mara where she lay, and she heard a metallic thunk as Threepio's head banged against the hull when Chewbacca forgot to duck. As Mara got up, she heard the protocol droid's prissy voice berating the Wookiee for his clumsiness, followed by a growled exhortation to shut up.

Mara and Winter stopped next to the ramp for a moment to retrieve Han, the carbonite block hovering next to the starship where Chewbacca had left it, and while Mara pushed the heavy carbonite block back toward the _Falcon,_ Winter laid down a stream of fire, forcing the white-armored troopers to duck behind cover.

Lando reappeared at the ramp, firing with his own blaster, and he waved Mara aboard, increasing his rate of fire. Carefully, Mara maneuvered the awkward rectangular block up the ramp, and let out a frustrated curse when it thunked against the hatchway, just a few centimeters too wide. As several bolts fired by the stormtroopers smashed into the hull of the _Falcon_ around them, Lando reached back and placed a hand on the edge of the carbonite block. After firing twice more with his blaster, he turned and shoved upwards with all his might.

The block containing the _Millennium Falcon_'s frozen captain tilted diagonally, and both Mara and Lando pushed it inside, where, with a strained whine, the repulsorlift finally gave out. The block slammed with a heavy _clank _on the deck, and Mara nearly tripped over it as she pulled herself inside.

Winter and Lando backed up the ramp, firing repeatedly at the pursuing Imperial troops, and once they were both aboard, Mara slapped the ramp control. The ramp raised into position, and the hatch hissed closed behind the others as they moved into the main hold of the ship.

Lando headed up to the cockpit, and Winter followed him, stopping to toss her blaster rifle inside an open storage compartment on the way. Mara sank into the acceleration couch behind the dejarik gameboard, grimacing at the pain from her numerous injuries.

Nearby, Artoo had freed Threepio from the netting bag Chewbacca had dumped against the couch and was hastily repairing his counterpart, his small arc welder flashing brightly.

The astromech burbled an amused-sounding comment, and the protocol droid snapped back with, "Of course I've looked better! Hurry up!"

Mara smiled despite the situation, but gasped as a sharp impact suddenly rocked the _Falcon_ and sent her painfully into the table in front of her.

Winter raced back into the main hold, her eyes going right to Mara. "Get in the bottom turret!" she called as she approached.

"What's going on?" Mara asked as she got up. Another impact nearly sent her to the floor, and only a firm grip on the back of the couch kept her upright.

"Boba Fett!" Winter exclaimed breathlessly as she pushed Mara along toward the turrets. "He's coming after us!"

Mara let out a second frustrated curse as she scrambled down the ladder to the belly turret. This was all they needed!

* * *

Darth Nova slowly hauled himself up the ladder leading to _Slave I_'s cockpit, trying to ignore the pain from his broken leg. He'd struck the hatchway at an awkward angle when the bounty hunter had swooped under him to catch him, not bothering to make his catch gentle. Combined with the injuries he'd sustained during his fight with Jade, Nova was now in an extremely foul temper.

"My thanks for your assistance, Hunter Fett," Nova growled sarcastically as he limped inside.

Boba Fett turned an indifferent look on him, briefly glancing over his shoulder. "I could have just let you drop," he said pointedly. "Now sit down, unless you want to break your other leg."

Nova glared darkly at the bounty hunter as he lowered himself into one of the seats behind the pilot's chair, and not a moment too soon, for Fett whipped his sleek vessel through a sharp turn, nearly turning it upside down as he roared after the fleeing _Millennium Falcon_, firing repeatedly with multiple banks of laser cannons.

The Sith Lord hurriedly buckled the safety webbing on his chair, and then held on tightly as Boba Fett did what he did best.

* * *

Leia gritted her teeth as she blocked a heavy, two-handed slash from Vader, bracing her feet beneath her. She was amazed she'd managed to last this long, but she could not hold out for much longer, she knew.

Vader quickly swept his lightsaber out and down, then back overhand in another smash. This time, Leia knew better, and she spun out of the way, wincing as the Dark Lord's blade slashed through the control console for the carbon freezing pit.

Steam belched out of the pit, and the horrible cacophony of screeching machinery followed it as the pit began to overload, pumping more and more carbonite without the usual safety precautions. Sparks erupted from the grasping claw, and with a terrible screech of twisting metal, it dropped down into the pit, gouging a chunk from the side as it crashed.

Through all of this, Leia and Vader traded blows with their lightsabers. The princess fumbled once, and when Vader pointedly refrained from taking advantage of the opportunity, Leia realized he was just toying with her, trying to provoke her into an angry reaction.

She was only too happy to oblige. With a wild series of barely controlled slashes, Leia forced the Sith Master back toward the edge of the platform around the freezing pit. Han's face just before the steam had hidden him from view kept surging through her mind, fueling her anger against this evil man.

Vader grinned broadly at the display, easily turning aside each of her slashes, but his satisfied grin faltered as she suddenly swept her blade against his with more force than he'd been expecting, knocking it aside.

Leia took advantage of her opportunity and lashed out with a kick that landed solidly against Vader's chest. He grunted in surprise as he toppled backwards, his cloak fluttering as he fell.

The princess looked down into the steam-filled darkness below the outer edge of the platform, but saw neither the Sith Master or Luke anywhere. She closed down the lightsaber and, keeping it ready in one hand, cautiously swung her legs over the edge of the platform and let herself drop.

Leia landed in a large control and maintenance room that overlooked the huge reactor that powered the entire city. The walls were paneled in red, seeming to Leia's nervous imagination to be the color of dried blood, and though there were a number of windows along the passage in which she found herself, it was dim and difficult to see.

The long hallway and the room beyond were eerily silent but for the howl of the wind in the huge shaft beyond the windows. Leia cautiously moved down the hallway, listening for any noise, but heard nothing to indicate that she was not alone.

That was why, when Darth Vader suddenly appeared from behind a corner, shouting fiercely as he ignited his lightsaber and slashed out at her, Leia was so startled that she nearly dropped the lightsaber clutched in her hand.

Vader was plainly done toying with her now. A furious scowl twisting his face, he grabbed hold of the collar of her jumpsuit and mercilessly slammed Leia into the wall. Stunned from the impact, she went limp and dropped her weapon, but roaring with anger, he drew back his arm and slammed her into the wall again.

Leia dropped to the floor, and Vader swooped in, holding the tip of his blade a few centimeters above her throat.

"You are beaten!" he said, his tone deadly serious now. "It is useless to resist!"

Breathing heavily, Leia glared up at the Dark Lord hatefully, but remained silent. She heard running footsteps behind her, and both she and Vader glanced up the passageway to see Luke sprinting over to them, a determined look in his eye.

Vader gestured casually, and a length of pipe leaped from the wall and tripped the young man, sending him sprawling. Before Luke could get to his feet, the pipe jumped up, bent with a protesting groan, and wrapped itself around his torso before slamming both ends into the wall, securing Luke there. He struggled, but to no avail; he was as beaten as Leia.

Vader looked back down at Leia over his lightsaber. "I feel the anger in you, young one," he said, his expression one of... pride? Leia was confused. "Release your hate," Vader continued. "It can make you stronger."

"I know enough to know that's not true," Leia said, glancing back at Luke, who was still trying to free himself from the length of pipe. "Luke has told me about the Dark Side."

Vader's lips quirked slightly in a smirk. "My son is... misguided," he said. "He will see the truth in time, as will you."

"Don't listen to him, Leia!" Luke shouted, grunting with exertion as he continued to struggle.

"You are powerful, Leia," Vader said, ignoring his son. "The Force is strong with you, just as strongly as it is with me and my son. You do not yet realize your importance."

Leia crawled backwards a few centimeters, inching toward Luke's lightsaber. Vader frowned and followed her throat with his lightsaber in silent warning. She fell still, propped up on her elbows.

"You've always known you were adopted, haven't you?" Vader asked, and Leia nodded slowly, not sure what he was getting at. The Sith Master smiled enigmatically. "Bail Organa never told you who your real parents were, did he?"

"It doesn't matter," Leia said defiantly. "He _is_ my father."

Vader shook his head slightly, his expression grim. "No, Leia," he said gravely, "_I_ am your father."

Leia stared up at him in horror. "No," she gasped, unwilling to believe something so terrible. "No, that's... That can't..." She trailed off, unable to articulate the magnitude of her disbelief.

Vader deactivated his lightsaber, lowering his hand to his side. "You are my daughter, Leia. There is no denying it."

Horrified, Leia backed away again. She knew it. She didn't want to, told herself that it couldn't possibly be true, but at the same time, she knew it with a dreadful certainty. This terrible man was her natural father, the man she'd often wondered about when she was younger. Leia wanted to scream.

She glanced up at Luke, and he met her gaze with confirmation in his deep blue eyes, so like those of his... _their_ father. He knew, too, but, as clearly as if she were thinking it herself, Leia realized that he joyfully accepted it because it meant she was his sister.

With a flex of his arms and a surge of the Force, Luke called his lightsaber into his hand, a sense of protectiveness directed toward Leia flooding out of him through the Force.

Luke's sapphire-blue blade ignited with a _snap-hiss_, and he swung it up, severing the pipe holding him to the wall. As the pieces dropped to the metal floor with multiple clangs, he boldly walked over to stand between Vader and his newfound sister, blade raised defensively. Leia looked up at him from where she still lay on the floor, too shocked to stand, and in that moment, she saw Luke in a new light.

Gone was the boy she had met on Alderaan, who seemed so lost after Obi-Wan Kenobi's death at Vader's hand. In his place was a man, _her brother_, who was willing to do anything to protect her.

"Stand aside, son," Vader said threateningly, igniting his own lightsaber.

"No, Father," Luke said calmly. "You aren't taking her anywhere."

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: The next chapter will be up the day after tomorrow. Thanks for reading, everybody!


	9. Family Secrets

**Nine**  
(Family Secrets)

Laser blasts ruthlessly hammered the _Millennium Falcon_ as Boba Fett swept after them in unshakable pursuit.

In the freighter's cockpit, Lando Calrissian frantically maneuvered the vessel that had once belonged to him in concert with her current copilot, Chewbacca. None of their tricks seemed to work, though, and Fett was inflicting more damage all the time.

In the turrets, Winter and Mara laid down a blistering storm of laser fire at their pursuer, but Fett was somehow able to slide his nimble ship out of the way of most of the bolts, absorbing the rest with his vessel's heavy armor.

Lando had considered fleeing the planet and jumping to hyperspace, but Chewbacca had shot that idea down as soon as he suggested it; Luke and Leia were still somewhere in the city, and the Wookiee wasn't leaving without them.

So, they were forced to do their best to avoid the pursuing Fett, who was proving extraordinarily difficult to lose.

Lando grimly thought to himself that there was not much chance of his day getting better; only worse.

* * *

Leia watched again as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader dueled along the length of the maintenance hallway leading to the control chamber for Cloud City's central reactor. She looked for opportunities to help her newfound brother, but she was unable to come up with anything. All she could do was just stay out of the way, and this frustrated her to no end.

Vader was angry now, nearly berserk, and he no longer appeared to care if he injured or killed his son as they fought. His lightsaber moved almost too fast to follow now, whirling through overwhelmingly powerful slashes and thrusts as he hammered Luke back through the hallway.

Luke faltered under the relentless assault, but he somehow managed to recover in time, purely on the defensive now. His lightsaber moved with equal speed, the light from the glowing blade leaping out in dizzying spirals that dazzled the eye.

Finally, as Vader paused for just a moment, Luke gathered the Force to himself and released it in a powerful concussive blast. Both Vader and Leia were knocked off their feet, sailing backwards through the air to sprawl several meters away from the young warrior on opposite sides. Leia heard Vader's grunt of pain as he fell heavily to the floor, but she landed gently, as if she had simply sat down instead of fallen.

As Leia hurriedly got to her feet, she realized this was on purpose. She was now on the other side of an open doorway, inside a small maintenance passageway that led off at an angle from the main hall.

Luke met her eyes as she got to her feet, and time seemed to slow for a moment.

_Go!_ his voice 'shouted' within her mind. _I'll keep him here._

Leia started to object, but Luke's silent voice became more stern. _GO!_ he 'shouted' again, so forcefully that there was no denying it was a command. _You're the only hope the Rebellion has if he defeats me,_ Luke went on. _If I don't make it out of here, go to the Dagobah system._

Then, as if to make sure she didn't still try to stay with him anyway, the door connecting the passage to the main hall forcefully slammed shut. Leia rushed forward and pounded on the door once, but realized resignedly that he was right; she could not help him here.

Leia paused for one final moment, then decisively turned and raced through the maintenance passage, moving as fast as she could. The rough gray walls whipped past her as she ran, and she chose intersections seemingly at random, though some part of her was somehow able to figure out the correct choice every time.

In what seemed like only seconds, Leia emerged from the maintenance passages and burst into one of the main halls of Cloud City, which was now gradually dimming as evening slowly fell.

Leia nearly stumbled as she halted suddenly, staring in shock at the figure standing before her. One of Vader's Sith, the one who had reported to him a few times in the carbon-freezing chamber, stood in the center of the hallway, her eyes fixed expectantly on Leia as if she had known she was coming.

The dark-haired young Kuati woman, about Leia's age, stood with her hands at her sides, partially hidden by the folds of her long black robe. Her lightsaber hung in plain view on her belt, but she made no move toward it.

Leia took a step backwards, her mind racing furiously in an attempt to come up with some way of escaping from Vader's servant, but she halted in surprise as the Sith woman raised a hand with a cautioning expression on her face.

"I have no intention of harming you, Leia," the young woman said, her tone serious. "My loyalties do not lie with Darth Vader and the Sith Order. I'm here to help you." Her voice seemed somewhat familiar.

With a start, Leia realized who the young woman was. Three years ago, Leia had been trying to bring Malysa Kolos, her Jedi Master, and a fellow student to the Rebellion. Her ship had been caught by Vader when they stopped at Tatooine to pick up Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Vader had captured the Jedi, as well. Leia had long thought Malysa to be dead, killed by the Sith like her master.

Malysa nodded slowly as comprehension dawned on Leia's face. "I've been pretending to serve Vader since he captured me," the young Jedi explained. "As far as he and the rest of the Empire knows, I'm a loyal Sith. I've done what I can to help the Rebellion over the last few years, but I don't get many opportunities."

Something clicked in Leia's mind at this. "You're the one who sent that message at Ord Mantell, aren't you? The one that warned us the local garrison knew we were there?"

Malysa nodded. "I tried to delay them long enough for your group to escape, but it was closer than I would have liked. Another Sith was there with me, and I had to make sure he didn't realize I was a double agent." She glanced down at her chronometer and frowned. "We don't have much time," she said quickly. "The stormtroopers are searching for your group, and their next sweep will be right through here. We need to go."

Leia nodded, and the two women ran through the white halls, dodging panicked civilians clutching bundles. Leia caught from the buzzing conversation around them that the Empire had seized control of the city, and everyone was fleeing before the Imperials could fully secure all the ports and trap them here.

Malysa looked over at Leia as they ran. "The _Millennium Falcon_ has taken off," she said, swerving around a man pulling two children along, his expression worried. "I came here in Lord Vader's shuttle, but there are dozens of stormtroopers around there. We're going to have to get out on a civilian transport."

Leia was about to nod in agreement when she felt a brush against her mind through the Force. She somehow recognized Mara Jade's presence in the touch, and she tried to recoil, to shove the touch away as hard as she could.

_Listen to me!_ Mara's voice 'said' firmly in her mind, like Luke's had earlier. _I'm trying to help you!_

Leia tried again to push away the touch, and she felt a sense of struggle as Mara maintained her contact. _LISTEN!_ Mara 'shouted' through the Force. _I know you don't trust me, but I really am trying to help you. This is the only way I can talk to you right now, so quit pushing! This is hard enough as it is!_

Reluctantly, Leia stopped struggling, realizing that Mara was sincere. She tried to ask what Mara wanted, but couldn't quite figure out how to reply through the link.

_You can learn how to project words later,_ Mara 'said' impatiently, apparently sensing her intent anyway. _Get outside, somewhere with a lot of open space under you._ _Tell whoever that is next to you to see if she can find a defense cannon._

Leia repeated Mara's instructions to Malysa, who looked at her curiously. _Tell her that when she sees the _Falcon_ and Boba Fett's ship, she needs to try and cripple _Slave I_ if she can,_ Mara continued.

Frowning, Leia realized what Mara and the others were going to try, and she hesitated for a moment, but again Mara reassured her of her sincerity. Leia relayed the former spy's instructions to Malysa, who nodded quickly and sprinted off after a quick farewell.

Leia moved on through the halls, looking for a way outside. She found a balcony after running through several more passages, relying on her newly manifested instincts, and as she emerged, she saw that she was right at the edge of the city, with only clouds below her.

She felt a sense of confirmation from Mara's presence in her mind, and just before the other woman 'spoke', Leia realized what she was about to ask her to do.

_When I tell you, jump as far as you can._

With a grim determination, Leia realized there was no alternative. When the roar of spaceship engines reached her ears, she looked up to see the familiar shape of the _Millennium Falcon_ soaring toward her position at incredible speed, the elongated upright oval of _Slave I_ only a few hundred meters behind.

The _Falcon_ maneuvered wildly, trying to avoid the punishing rain of red blaster fire spitting from _Slave I_, but the bounty hunter's vessel swooped closer all the time, easily keeping up with Han's ship. The shields crackled and hissed as they absorbed the blaster fire, each hammering bolt rocking the ship slightly.

Suddenly, a turret mounted on top of one of the cylindrical towers spat long green lances of fire at Boba Fett's vessel, and with astonishing accuracy, the bolts impacted at the exact place where the left stabilizer fin met the hull. The fin sheared off, spinning away in the wind, and _Slave I _spun out of control.

* * *

Malysa Kolos grinned in satisfaction behind the controls of the turret. Even with all the modifications the bounty hunter had made, _Slave I_ was still a _Firespray_-class patrol ship, manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards. Her parents were technicians at the shipyards, so Malysa and her brother Tyraj had grown up around ships. She knew exactly where to hit a _Firespray_ to incapacitate it, so the shot had been difficult but precise.

She was half-surprised she had actually made the shot, especially at this distance, but Malysa knew the Force had guided her hand.

Her mission accomplished, Malysa ducked out of the turret and melted into the crowd. By the time she met up with any Imperials, she would be ready to arrange her features into the appropriate amount of enraged determination to recapture Lord Vader's prisoners.

She would put on a convincing show, and no one would ever suspect what she had done. The coming months would be crucial, she knew, and the Rebellion would need all the help they could get against the sure-to-be enraged Emperor, who would undoubtedly step up his offensive even further.

* * *

Inside _Slave I,_ Boba Fett wrestled with the controls of his ship as it tried to hurtle out of control through the sky. In the seat behind him, Darth Nova raged.

"They're getting away!" the Sith Lord screamed, his arm thrust out at the wildly spinning viewport. "Get your vessel back under-"

Nova cut off as Fett reached back and quickly, precisely, hit him across the face with his armored gauntlet, striking the furious young man in the precise place that would instantly knock him unconscious without doing any permanent damage.

Fett returned his attention to his ship, carefully adjusting controls as he looked for a good place to make a controlled crash landing. This was an unforeseen setback, and while Fett kept himself calm and in control now, he knew there would be plenty of time to be angry later. He would track down whoever had fired upon his ship and kill them as slowly and painfully as he could.

No one, _no one,_ crossed Boba Fett and lived to brag about it.

* * *

Back on the balcony, Leia watched _Slave I_ spin out of control for several long moments before finally righting itself. She could hear the engines straining from here, and as Leia watched, the hunter's vessel slowly dropped out of sight behind one of the huge white towers behind her, followed by a horrendous screeching of metal.

The _Falcon_ swooped over to her balcony and, with a rumble from its powerful engines, slowly came to a hovering stop underneath her. The top hatch opened, and Leia caught sight of long red-gold hair flying in the wind as the lift brought Mara Jade out onto the upper hull, a cable clipped to a belt around her waist.

"_Jump_!" Mara shouted, both over the howling rumble of the _Falcon_'s engines and through the Force.

It was quite a distance to the _Falcon_ below. Leia could see Lando and Chewbacca nervously watching her through the cockpit as they edged the vessel as close as they dared; the wind made it difficult, and the slightest mistake would send the vessel crashing against the hull of the city.

Tensing her legs, Leia climbed up onto the edge of the balcony and jumped as high and far as she could. She was momentarily panicked as she realized that her momentum would not carry her far enough, but even as she tensed, an invisible hand caught her and changed the angle of her descent slightly.

Leia crashed into the waiting Mara with enough force to knock the breath from both their lungs, and she was stunned upon impact, unable to move for a moment as she slid down the _Falcon_'s hull. But Mara managed to grab her hand, and they both were yanked away from the hatch by their momentum. The cable around Mara's waist jerked them to a rough halt, and Leia cried out, feeling like her arm was being wrenched out of its socket.

Her hair flying around her like a red-gold cloud, Mara met Leia's eyes, and Leia saw enormous relief mixed with apology in the other woman's gaze. She tightened her grip on Mara's hand, silently letting her know how much she appreciated what the former spy had done.

Whatever Mara Jade's motives had been while in service of Darth Vader, they were firmly in the past; now, she was just as much a Rebel as the rest of them, and Leia knew it.

Slowly, Mara hauled Leia back toward the hatch, crying out with exertion. The lift lowered swiftly, and once they were both inside, away from the howling wind, both of them looked at each other in mutual understanding.

"Luke," Mara said, and Leia nodded.

"We have to go back for him," she agreed.

"Can you tell where he is?" Mara asked, and Leia could sense her attempting to look for him through the Force.

It amazed Leia how quickly she was adapting to her newfound power; she wouldn't have believed she could do any of this even yesterday.

"No," Leia said as she and Mara went forward into the main hold. "But I'll try."

Mara nodded. "I'll help you."

* * *

Deep within Cloud City, in an enormously long and wide shaft, lightsabers blazed and crackled, the humming and sparking produced by the movement of the blades echoing off of the cavernous walls. The wind howled through the shaft, ruffling the hair and clothes of the combatants, and made balance on their dueling grounds precarious.

Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader crossed blades repeatedly, the Force surging and swirling through each of them as they moved at speeds far beyond the capabilities of normal human beings.

But neither man was a normal human being; each was filled with an astonishingly powerful current of the Force, flowing through them as both men tried their utmost to overcome the other.

Their duel had raged around most of the maintenance passageways surrounding Cloud City's central reactor, until finally, with a mighty surge of the Force, Vader had blasted Luke through one of the windows in the control room.

The Sith Master had followed, and now the two Skywalkers fought on a narrow metal walkway, a gantry jutting out from the immense podlike reactor.

Luke held his ground in the center of the span, his lightsaber whirling through intensely complicated patterns as he pushed himself to the limit in trying to defend against Vader's overwhelming onslaught.

Darth Vader was a master of lightsaber combat with nearly thirty years of practice, while Luke had only slightly more than ten. It was exhausting, moving his blade at these speeds, and Luke knew he could not hold out much longer. Vader, however, seemed to have boundless reserves of energy, and instead of slowing down, he was actually moving faster the longer the duel went on.

Eight times in the span of only one second, Vader slashed his blade against Luke's, pressing for any openings, any holes in the young warrior's defense. His face was grimly expressionless, set in concentration as the Dark Lord continued his merciless onslaught.

Luke braced his legs and opened himself fully to the Force, feeling his arms move almost by themselves to block each one of the strikes. Vader paused for just an instant too long in his next attack, and Luke whipped his lightsaber over to take advantage.

His shining blue blade nicked the shoulder of Vader's uniform, burning the flesh beneath, before the Sith Master was able to deflect the blow and force Luke's blade away from himself.

Vader backed up a step, taking one hand off his blade as he gathered the Force, but Luke went on the attack, slashing his lightsaber down in a powerful sweeping diagonal strike. Vader blocked, but Luke had already changed the angle of his blade, sliding it along Vader's scarlet blade for a moment before suddenly reversing directions to swing from the other side.

Luke knocked Vader's blade aside and, in the same motion, grabbed hold of the railing on one side of the walkway and swung both feet up and out. Both of his boots hit Vader solidly in the center of the chest, and the Sith Master stumbled backwards, landing heavily on the metal grating a few meters away.

In the midst of Luke's charge, Vader threw up his organic hand and sent a powerful burst of Force Lightning screaming out at his son. Luke caught most of it on his lightsaber, and he could hear the hilt whining as the power pack strained to compensate against the energy surge.

With that pause, Vader leaped to his feet in a long jumping slash, his lightsaber gripped in both hands. Luke spun aside, and Vader's blade sliced through the railing with a shower of sparks.

Vader continued the wild, sweeping blows as he advanced, shearing off more of the railing with each step. Luke had to retreat, unable to block the incredibly forceful blows. Vader demolished more of the walkway as he pressed ever forward, rage twisting his features. His natural eye was a burning shade of yellow now, and even his glowing blue photoreceptor seemed to shine brighter with the force of his anger.

Luke could hold out no longer, but even as his back pressed against the end of the railing, he tried to fend off the flowing slashes, trapped with nowhere else to go.

Darth Vader twisted his ruby blade suddenly in a way Luke was unable to counter, and he screamed in agony as the tip of Vader's lightsaber sliced through his forearm above his wrist. He fell back against the end of the walkway, cradling his arm, and tried to fight his way past the fiery pain.

Vader stopped suddenly, holding his still-activated lightsaber in one hand as he seemed almost abruptly to calm down. His face was expressionless, but as Luke watched, his burning yellow eye slowly faded back to blue. He went very still, not even blinking, and he might as well have been a statue looming over Luke, his long cloak flapping in the wind.

"It is over," Vader said finally, his voice forceful. "You are beaten!"

Breathing heavily, Luke slowly crawled backwards, still not willing to give up.

"There is no escape," Vader said grimly. "Don't make me destroy you."

Luke reached the extreme end of the walkway and pulled himself under the railing, slowly edging along the narrow metal span that led to a large vane-like structure, part of the reactor. Luke was unsure of its function, but at the moment he did not care; all that mattered was getting as far away from Vader as he could.

He jammed the stump of what was left of his right arm into his left armpit, trying uselessly to comfort the burning agony that seemed to lance through his entire body. Luke held on to the vane-like structure with his left hand, feeling the cold metal beneath his fingertips.

Vader shut off his lightsaber and advanced to the end of the walkway, placing one hand on the railing as he stretched out the other. "Luke, come with me," he implored. "There is much we can accomplish together. With our combined strength, we can put an end to this destructive conflict and finally bring order to the galaxy." He stretched out his hand even further, easily within reach of Luke, should he choose to take it. "Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son."

"That's all you care about; power!" Luke retorted. "You don't want me to join you because I'm your son, you want me to join you because of what I can do!"

Vader shook his head slightly. "No, son. That isn't true. I want us to be a family. We _can_ be a family, with your help."

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked warily, shifting his grip on the narrow metal ring encircling the vane upon which he hung, his feet perched precariously on the base.

"Have you never wanted to meet your mother?" Vader asked, leaning even further over the railing.

"She's dead!" Luke shouted back. "She's dead because _you_ killed her!"

Vader smiled slightly, as if he knew something Luke did not. "That doesn't matter," he said quietly, difficult to hear over the wind. "Death is powerless against me."

Luke stared up at his father incredulously. Had he gone insane? What was he talking about?

"My Sith Master's Master, Darth Plagueis, found a way to use the Force to prolong life, to cheat death," Vader said. "He even found a way to create life where there was none." His natural eye widened with excitement, and even his photoreceptor glowed slightly brighter behind its patch-like lens. "I found out how he did it. It has taken me twenty years of study, but I have finally learned Darth Plagueis' secret for myself." Vader gestured boldly. "I have returned the dead to life!"

Luke's eyes widened in horror, afraid of what his father would say next.

Vader grew serious. "My experiment lasted only briefly, though," he went on. "The process is too complicated for me to sustain by myself." He looked down at Luke fervently. "That is why I need your help, son; you are just as powerful as I am. With your sister aiding us, we can bring your mother back to life!"

His father's face was pleading now, and he stretched out his hand again. "Please, Luke," Vader said imploringly. "Please help me with this. As a family, we can rule over this galaxy and finally bring it into an age of peace. That is all I want. That is all I have ever wanted; to see a final end to all of these pointless wars! Together, we can make this happen!"

Vader's offer was very tempting. Luke dearly wanted to know his mother, to actually speak to her himself, to have a real family finally. He released the metal ring he had been clinging to and slowly reached out his hand, closer and closer to Vader's.

But when their fingertips were barely brushing, Luke stopped and pulled back. "No!" he shouted up at his father. "No, I can't!"

Surprising Luke, Vader's face twisted with emotion; he was genuinely hurt by this. "Why not?"

"Because I've seen too much!" Luke replied. "I know what you would do with Leia and me. You would bring Mother back to life, yes, but after that, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself. You're consumed with the quest for more power! Having all that power at your command would be too tempting, and you would just sink further into the Dark Side and pull us with you. I won't let you do that to Leia!"

"You're wrong!" Vader shouted back, his hands clenching around the railing. "All you know are Obi-Wan's lies! You don't know me at all!"

"No, Father," Luke said calmly, relaxing his grip on the metal vane. "I know you only too well. I won't be your pawn, and I won't let you make my sister one, either. I will never join you."

With that, he stepped into the endless nothing and let himself drop.

* * *

"Luke!" Leia said suddenly, sitting bolt-upright in the navigator's chair in the _Millennium Falcon_'s cockpit. Next to her, in the seat behind Chewbacca's, Mara looked over at her with the same emotion crossing her own face.

"Luke's in trouble!" Leia said, leaning forward. In the pilot's chair, Lando looked back at her, his expression grave. She could tell that he was curious about how she knew, but believed her.

"Where?" he asked.

Leia thought for a moment, concentrating on her tenuous bond with her brother, and suddenly she flung out an arm and pointed.

"There!" she and Mara said together, both sensing his location.

Lando hauled the _Falcon_ over and followed their directions, accelerating.

* * *

Luke fell.

The wind roared in his ears, buffeting him as he tumbled down the long reactor shaft. The walkway, where his father stood watching him, seemed to fly up and away from him with astonishing speed.

As he fell, Luke was caught in the stream of one of the intake vents along the edge of the enormous shaft, and he was sucked in, helpless to stop or even slow himself down.

He hit the smooth metal tube of the intake valve hard and slid out of control, tumbling over and over until he finally hit the bottom, where the vent intersected with another.

Luke tried to get up, unsure of how he was going to get himself out of here, but even as he managed to get his feet under him, the floor of the shaft opened up beneath him and sent him tumbling down another vent, unable to grab hold of anything with his one remaining hand.

With another heavy, painful impact, he reached the end of this new shaft, and the hatch beneath him immediately opened. Luke slipped out into open sky, nothing but pink clouds beneath him, and he dropped for a heart-stopping moment before he finally managed to grab onto a weather vane mounted on the underside of the city.

He felt the vane creak ominously under his weight, and knew it wouldn't hold him for long.

* * *

"There he is!" Mara said, pointing between Lando and Chewbacca at a tiny moving shape far above on the underside of the city.

Lando carefully maneuvered the _Falcon_ beneath the shape, but even before he had begun slowing down, Mara was out of her chair and down the passageway, headed straight for the lift connected to the top hatch.

Leia was only a step behind her, and as they reached the lift, Mara grabbed the belt and cable she had used earlier while Leia went for the medkit; they could both sense that Luke was gravely injured, though Mara wasn't sure where.

She ignored the protestations of her own injuries as she positioned herself on the lift and hit the controls. Mara ascended through the first hatch and then the second, readying herself, and as soon as she could see outside, her eyes locked on Luke, who was clinging to a weather vane several meters above.

Lando and Chewbacca brought the _Falcon_ to a stop, slowly hovering upwards. Mara could make out more detail the closer they got, and she soon realized with horror that Luke's right hand had been cut off. He had numerous other burns on his clothing, as well, and his hair was soaked with sweat. She knew then that he had been through a battle just as terrible as her own today, if not worse.

When Luke saw her, he loosened his grip on the vane. Mara stretched out her arms and caught him as he dropped, hitting the lift controls immediately. In the confined space of the lift tube, as it lowered, Luke's blue eyes sought out her own, and Mara felt a questioning probe of her mind through the Force.

Nodding slightly, she silently confirmed his inquiry, letting him know everything, without reservation, in a flood of images. She felt a sense of hurt at her true identity and former motives, but it was followed by acceptance of who she was now, the choice she had made today.

Luke embraced her, letting Mara know he forgave her, and she had to fight back tears for the second time that day as she realized this, deeply moved. She put her arms around him comfortingly.

The lift finished its fast descent into the ship, and immediately after both hatches had closed, Mara felt the _Falcon_'s powerful engines rumble as Lando accelerated, taking them away from the city at the freighter's top sublight speed.

With a screaming roar, a full squadron of TIE fighters soared after them in pursuit.

* * *

Admiral Piett watched as Darth Vader swooped into the bridge of _Executor_, his long black cloak flaring out behind him.

Piett was momentarily startled by the Sith Master's arrival; the Emperor's shuttle had confirmed docking only a few minutes before. Lord Vader must have been running if he had managed to get up here this fast.

But the Dark Lord showed no signs of being out of breath as he advanced along the command walkway to where Piett and Grand Admiral Thrawn waited.

"Where are they?" Lord Vader said as he came to a stop next to the commanders.

"They've just left the atmosphere, my lord," Piett reported. "We are moving to intercept, so they will be in range of our tractor beam in moments."

"You are sure the hyperdrive on the _Millennium Falcon_ has been deactivated?" the Sith Master asked, turning his gaze on Piett.

"Yes, my lord. Immediately after they were captured," Piett replied.

"Good," said Vader. "Prepare a boarding party, and make sure their weapons are set for stun."

* * *

After making sure both Luke and Mara were secure under the care of Winter in the _Millennium Falcon_'s tiny infirmary, Leia hurried back up to the cockpit.

The _Falcon_ shook with laser fire as she took her seat, and Leia looked up as Chewbacca roared something irritable at Lando.

"If they said they fixed it, they fixed it!" the gambler retorted. "Just get the coordinates locked!"

As Chewbacca programmed the navicomputer for their hyperspace jump, Lando swerved the _Falcon_ from side to side, dodging the blaster fire of the pursuing TIEs.

Leia gripped the arms of her chair, desperately hoping the escape worked. If Vader caught them, it would mean death for all of them except her and Luke, whose fate would be worse.

_Leia_, her father's voice 'said' within her mind. Leia recoiled, but was unable to pull away from Vader's touch. _Leia, you must come with me,_ Vader 'said' imploringly. _It is your destiny._

She could sense Luke nearby, and that he was hearing a variation of the same thing, so she extended her support to her brother even as she drew strength from his returning touch.

But between Leia's inexperience and the excruciating pain clouding Luke's mind, they were unable to offer much resistance to Vader's terrible will. She felt as if their joined will was as a wall of sand being ruthlessly battered by the incoming waves, eroding a little more with each new blow.

Chewbacca finally barked triumphantly as the navicomputer flashed, indicating its readiness, and he leaned forward and threw the hyperspace lever.

But nothing happened.

In unison, both Leia and Chewbacca turned accusing glares on Lando Calrissian, who spluttered with objection.

"It's not my fault!" he exclaimed.

Chewbacca howled in anger, gesturing wildly at Lando.

"It's not my fault!" he said again, on the edge of panic. He turned and swatted the bulkhead next to him, growling, "I can't believe this! I trusted them!"

Chewbacca irritably shoved Lando aside as he left the cockpit, headed back for the hold.

* * *

R2-D2 paused in fixing his golden-plated friend as Chewbacca came storming into the hold, snarling to himself as he grabbed his box of tools.

"Oh, no, we're doomed!" Threepio exclaimed. "The hyperdrive _still_ isn't working! The Empire will catch us for sure now!"

Chewbacca angrily roared at Threepio to shut up as he yanked open the service hatch for the hyperdrive. He immediately went to work, his tools clanking as he hurriedly checked the systems.

Artoo whistled thoughtfully to himself, suspecting the cause of the malfunction. With a determined beep, he set off for one of the other panels as fast as his wheels could take him.

"Wait, come back!" Threepio called to him, holding up his one remaining unattached leg. "You haven't finished fixing me yet!"

Artoo ignored him, whistling again as he headed for the panel. Threepio somehow managed to follow him, protesting all the way. "How could you possibly know what's wrong with the hyperdrive?" he demanded.

The little droid answered him as he set to work, moving with all the speed his electronics could give him.

"Cloud City's central computer told you?" Threepio said, finally coming to a stop next to him. "R2-D2! You know better than to trust a strange computer!"

But Artoo ignored him, still working furiously. A few meters away, Chewbacca struggled with a panel in the service pit, growling to himself. The stubborn panel refused to budge, and so with a savage growl, the Wookiee gripped his tool like a club and bashed the panel violently.

* * *

Up in the cockpit, a shower of sparks erupted from an overhead panel, and Lando hurried to put it out before it could ignite anything, leaving the flying to Leia for a moment.

Leia rolled the freighter, dodging the torrent of laser fire coming from their pursuers, and winced as several of the bolts hit them anyway. Vader's presence in her mind was a constant distraction, and Leia fought to keep her thoughts from clouding under the Sith Master's influence.

* * *

Finally, Artoo finished his work in the hold and twisted his manipulator arm one last time. The whining coming from the bowels of the ship suddenly changed in pitch and became a powerful rumble.

The _Millennium Falcon_ shot forward with a sudden surge of acceleration, and with a shriek, the off-balanced Artoo went sliding uncontrollably across the deck, where he rolled into the service pit and landed on the surprised Chewbacca.

"You did it!" Threepio shouted joyously, but then he cried in alarm as he toppled over as well.

* * *

In the cockpit, Lando also lost his balance in the surge of acceleration, but he whooped as he saw the stars outside blur into lines and then twist into infinite streaks of light.

"We did it!" he crowed.

Leaving its pursuers far behind, the _Millennium Falcon_ leaped triumphantly into hyperspace.

* * *

On _Executor_'s bridge, Admiral Firmus Piett felt like his stomach had sunk to somewhere about the level of his knees.

This was it, he knew. He was about to die for this, and in all likelihood so were the majority of the other officers on the bridge.

But surprising them all, Lord Vader remained still and silent, staring at the blackness of space outside where the _Millennium Falcon_ had been moments before. He clasped his gloved hands behind his back over his cloak, his expression unreadable.

He turned, and Piett tensed again, but Vader walked past the admiral like he wasn't even there and left the bridge, his cloak gently billowing out behind him as he strode through the door.

Beside Piett, Thrawn watched the Emperor leave, his expression also curiously unreadable. Finally, he turned back to Piett.

"Ready the flagship, Admiral," he said. "Prepare to rejoin the fleet."

Piett looked over at him, still in shock, and Thrawn shrugged fractionally.

"They escaped this time, Admiral," he said simply. "There is no point in wishing otherwise."

Piett nodded slowly, then got to work.

* * *

-/\-

* * *

Author's Note: An epilogue follows, to be posted tomorrow. Thanks for reading!


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A few days later, the small group of people that had escaped in the _Millennium Falcon_ gathered in one of the wards of the Rebel hospital frigate. The room was a calming white, smelling of not entirely unpleasant chemicals, and one entire wall was a huge viewport that faced the starry field outside. The other ships of the Alliance fleet moved past the viewport occasionally, drifting in formation in this, the latest place they had found to hide from the Empire.

Luke Skywalker sat in a diagnostic chair, looking down as the surgeon droid tested his new artificial hand, which was an advanced model, covered with synthetic skin. He flexed the fingers experimentally, watching as the machinery within the open panel on his wrist moved in response.

The surgeon droid, apparently satisfied, reached down and closed the panel. Luke got up, and as he pulled down his sleeve, he marveled at how closely the replacement resembled his original hand. It would be indistinguishable from the rest of his body except upon close examination.

But, Luke thought as he moved to join the others, he would always know. The mechanical hand was an eternal reminder of his duel with his father. Was there anything left of Anakin Skywalker within Darth Vader? His final words to Luke clouded the issue somewhat, and the young man found himself still confused in his feelings about his father.

Freshly emerged from his immersion in a bacta tank, Han Solo slowly moved over to the wide, expansive viewport and put his arm around Leia's shoulders. He was still having a little trouble seeing, the aftereffects of his hibernation within the block of carbonite, but the doctors assured them that there was no permanent damage.

Leia smiled up at him, and Han smiled warmly in return. Luke had to smile himself, happy for them.

Mara Jade quietly approached from Luke's left and touched his arm. He looked over into her vibrant green eyes, and a bit of silent communication passed between them, a mutual understanding. She gently laid her head on his shoulder, and Luke put his arm around her, sending comfort out through the Force as well. The rest of the Alliance was far less accepting, Luke knew; she was in for a rough few days as the Rebel leadership decided what was to be done with her.

Lando, standing on Han's other side at the far end of the viewport next to Chewbacca, looked over at the line of people. "So, now what do we do?" he asked.

Han shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "We'll figure something out."

"The Empire is still out there," Winter said, standing next to the droids at the left end of the huge viewport. "Vader will never give up."

"No, he won't," Mara agreed quietly.

Luke squeezed her shoulder. "There's still hope."

The twinkling stars outside in the velvety black shone in silent affirmation.

* * *

In his quarters aboard _Executor_, Darth Vader sat in his chair and thought about the events of the last few days, staring at the wall full of lightsabers before him.

He had two children, he now knew, and both of them had rejected him. Just like _she_ had rejected him, just like everyone else he had known.

Why would no one see what he was trying to do? He was not some bloodthirsty tyrant out to kill or enslave as many beings as he could, like Palpatine would have been. His son's last words to him stung Vader, even as he considered their truth.

What had he become? Had he truly turned into a terrible monster, as his children seemed to see him?

Vader got up and moved over to look at the rows of lightsabers, each from a Jedi that had died at his own hand. He saw Dooku's, the first to fall against him at the beginning of his slide into the Dark Side. He had already incapacitated the Sith Lord, made the old man helpless on his knees before him, and still he killed him anyway.

Just like he had slaughtered all those Tuskens in the camp of the tribe that had captured his mother, all those years ago. Anakin had been so consumed with fury that he left not a single one alive. He had killed all of them, even the children.

The sound of their screams as his lightsaber slashed through them came back to Vader in a rush, joined in an awful chorus by those of the roomful of Jedi children he had killed with equal mercilessness, again sparing not a one. How many Jedi had he killed in just that one day? People who had once trusted him, looked up to him, thought of him as a great man, all of them fell beneath his ruthless blade.

Vader reached up and touched one of the lightsabers on the very top row, one that had sat undisturbed since he had placed it there years ago. This lightsaber had belonged to a man Darth Vader had killed with more savage ferocity than any of the others. This lightsaber had belonged to a man Vader so hated that he had tried to erase every bit of him, despising him utterly.

This lightsaber had once belonged to Anakin Skywalker.

Vader took his present weapon from his belt, one he had fashioned not long after declaring himself Sith Master, and held it in his other hand. He looked down at the two lightsabers in his hands, belonging to the man he had once been and the man he was now.

Holding his hands out before him, he ignited both blades, and stared at each.

One red, one blue.

One Sith, one Jedi.

Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker.

Which of them rightly belonged to him? Which of them was he, truly, in the innermost core of his being?

When he finally brought Padmé back, which of them would she love?

Could she love either one?

Was either worth loving?

* * *

__-/\-

_**End Part II**_

__-\/-

* * *

Author's Notes and Acknowledgments: First off, thanks goes to George Lucas for dreaming up such a fun universe to play in. Having been a fan since I was about six years old, it seems like a logical progression of events that I would eventually write my own stories set in a galaxy far, far away. So, the Great Bearded One deserves much credit for making it available to all of our imaginations in the first place. Say what you will about some of his later, admittedly exasperating decisions, but remember, we wouldn't have Star Wars without him. But I still say Han shot first. ;)

Secondly, I must give thanks to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the screenplay for '_The Empire Strikes Back_'. I couldn't bring myself to change most of their lines, because let's face it, they just work so darn well. _ESB_ is my favorite of all the Star Wars movies, in large part due to the snappy, witty dialogue. Plus, Darth Vader is at his scary badass best in _ESB_, so I saw no point in changing most of that.

And as before, I must also give thanks and praise to Timothy Zahn, my personal favorite Star Wars writer. I just had to include my favorite characters of his because, since I've spent so much time in the Expanded Universe that it doesn't quite feel like Star Wars without them to me. I just hope I've done them justice in my retelling here.

Now, as with _Part I_, a short oneshot collection will follow this story, bridging the year between the end of _Part II_ and the beginning of _Part III_. So, keep an eye out for _'One Missed Strike: Tales From the Empire'_, coming out sometime within the next few weeks. I have another large story I'm working on that I've neglected a bit while working on this, so I need to devote my attention there for a little while.

_'One Missed Strike, Part III'_ is being written right now in between all the other projects I have going, so there will hopefully not be such a long wait this time. I give a tentative estimate of late December or early January for the launch date, assuming all goes well. Unlike parts _I_ and _II,_ _Part III_ will be almost completely original, with very few traces of _'Return of the Jedi'_, since, as the end of this story shows, the changes I've made in this AU entirely bypass almost all of the events of the movie. Parts _I_ and _II_ have been the setup for the grand finale of _Part III_, and I will be doing my very best to make sure the payoff is a darn good one.

Finally, major thanks goes to all the readers and reviewers of this story. Your support means a lot to me, and I'm very happy so many people are enjoying my work. I hope you all continue to enjoy it in the future.

Thanks for reading,

Davin Sunrider

(Revision Note: As with _'Part I'_, I've gone through the story to correct typos, fix sentence structure in a few places, and improve certain descriptions to add extra punch. Again, very minor changes; nothing 'Special Edition'-level. ;) )


End file.
